Super Smash Bros Unlimited
by Silver Lion Inc
Summary: 130 contestants arrive for the what can easily be considered the greatest Smash tournament ever! However, while all seems fine, a dark league within the Smashers is planning something big and only one person has a chance to defeat them. That person is Barren, a contestant in the tournament suffering from night trauma. Will he be able to win the tournament and save the world? R&R!
1. Roster

**Final OCs: 16**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Barren Rein (Silvermane34) (-)

**Age: **15

**Gender: **Male

**Personality: **A boy whose curiosity gets the better of him. Has a habit of trying to be the best of the best and breaking fourth wall. The only thing that can phase him is someone putting his fiends in jeopardy.

**Bio: **"What am I fighting for?" The question he hasn't been able to answer for three years. He spent the majority of his training to be a warrior, training in the mystic arts and training to be the greatest. But when he saw his greatest and closest friend walk away... his burning inspiration fell ten stories. That question was the last thing he said to him. If only he could remember his name.

**Apearal: **Black shoes with seven golden rings painted on each side. A pair of blue shorts and a black tank top with a fire like design. A golden chain hanging around his neck connected to a small silver scroll held with a golden ring. His hair is raven black and it went down to his neck. His are ruby red.

**Theme: **"Live and learn" **Crush 40**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Cain Mcgrady (Silvermane34)

**Age: **16

**Gender:** Male

**Personality**: One of the most obnoxious, ignorant, perverted boys you'll ever meet. He's flirty, likes older woman, has a habit of entering one's personal space and has an I.Q of -5. However, when it comes to friendship and fighting, he'll do anything to make things right. But he truly enjoys annoying people, especially his cousin Barren.

**Bio: **His parent's died in a car accident when he was 7. He moved in with his grandfather, Master Asia, and his cousin, Barren at the school of the undefeated of the east.. He's been known as the third best student to have ever attended, right behind Barren and the new king of hearts. Despite his perverted personality. he has a habit of meditating which granted him a large amount of telepathy.

**Theme: **"Never let it go" **Maki Morrow**

* * *

><p><strong>Name:<strong> Orvus Creig (Silvermane34) (-)

**Age: **?

**Gender:** Male

**Personality: **Maniacal, deadly, threatening, scary and really clever. He caries no weapons other than a deck of playing cards. He tends to declare his authority over his subordinates and enjoys playing with peoples emotions.

**Bio: **"This tournament is about to get even more interesting." Words that this man lives by. However this man is more than just a man. His deck of cards my seem like normal playing card, but they far from normal. For some unknown reason, he has an insane grudge on Master Hand and- wait, I'm receiving a message... WHAT THE YOU MEAN HE WASN'T INVITED!

**Apearal: **He wears a black cloak over his tuxedo. A magicians top hat, and is always seen shuffling a deck of cards. His are an abnormal color, purple.

**Theme: **"Devils Never Cry" **Devil Driver**

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><p><strong>Name: <strong>Nicky (Silvermane34) (-)

**Age: **?

**Gender:** Male

**Personality: **A demon pure of pure rage and power... well, not entirely. Sometimes he acts like a complete dolt, but when he's serious, he really knows how to bring the pain. He despises his father for preferring his brothers more then him.

**Bio:** Satan's youngest son. A completely loyal and trusted servant to Orvus. He was Orvus's friend when they were younger. This friendship eventually turned into despise due to the shackles Orvus forced him to wear. Though he still treats him as a friend, they tend to argue over the silliest of things. His father thinks of him as a disgrace, but he'll show him.

**Apearal: **A black T-shirt with a little devil on it. Grey shorts and black and red shoes. His black hair is styled into a short Mohawk and his eyes always change colors He has a normal buil, but his skin his very pale.

**Theme: **"What I'm made of" **Crush 40**

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><p><strong>Name: <strong>Litnor (Silvermane34)

**Age: **?

**Personality: **A demon with a bounty. He doesn't speak very often, only when spoken to or if he's shocked. He's very quiet and secretive and has an amazing ability bend the truth... literally.

**Gender:** Male

**Bio: **He was forced to live as a mortal after he caused havoc in Hell. Still getting used to his human body, he still has a good habit of fighting. He gave his full loyalty to Orvus after he rescued him from underworld troops, there mortal enemies. Litnor also hides a dark secret under his mask which might as well be a key in Orvus's plans.

**Apearal: **A white cloak with nine jewels on it. Black pants and a grey T-shirt. He never takes his mask off (I'ts one of those mask from drama club). He wears brown sandals and has a large red dragon tatoo on his arm.

**Theme: **"I am all of me" **Crush 40**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Zohan Ishbal (rainbowkitteh)

**Age: **17

**Gender:** Male

**Personality: **He is a very hyper person and would do anything to get sugar. He also has an obsession over the movie 'Dont mess with the Zohan', which the title of the movie gained the honor of being his best quote. He may seemweak outside of battle, but when he is in battle, he is quick and cunning.

**Bio: **When he was young, he always managed to find the hidden candy, sugar, ect that his parents hid from him. When he reached the age of ten, a movie came out and it was about a guy with the same name as him who was veryepic in many ways. Thus, the main antagonist of the movie became his idol. But he wanted to be more like Zohan from the movie, so he took long training to become stronger and came out successful. He gained super human strength, but cant lift anything bigger than half of a large airplane. After watching the movie, he then got an obsession in cutting hair, so his dream is to becom the best hair stylist in the world.

**Apearal: **His skin is tanned, and he has a muscular build. He is about 6'9 in height and he has Ember eyes which go well with his raven black hair with side bamgs that have pink streaks and all tieds together with a black smiley face tattoo on his back. He wears a white T-shirt with, in black writing, his quote. He also wears grey shorts, and white sneakers. What completes the look is the Katana he always carries around.

**Theme:** "Hine Ani Ba" **HaDag Nachash**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Dracicle (Kaze Shiroini)

**Age: **37

**Gender:** Male

**Personality: **Intelligent evil mastermind with an army at his service. He quite short tempered and hates those who declare authority over him. He usually declares his authority by smacking someone in the head.

**Bio: **Dracicle had always been top of his class. He may have been smart, but didn't have many friends. He and his friends were always picked on. After months of bullying, his friends decided that their lives weren't important and killed themselves. Dracicle continued to grew up alone and cold. Hating anyone and everyone. He believed that all who didn't believe in his ideals were worthless garbage. He soon met people who belived his ideals, and that he was a ver intelligent man, coming up with amazing ideas. He started using the people who believed in him to kill others. Some of the people who were murdered were the bullies. Others were his parents. No one is safe from Dracicle. He knows when someone is lying about believing him so he will kill them. Of his group, he is the most lethal person. He has been training to use more of his brain. His studies have gotten him very far. His plans are full-proof, it's just that his henchman screw them up sometimes. He has a very short temper. If one of his plans messes up, he will smack the fools who destroyed it.

**Apearal: **Short. Black hoodie and gray shirt, multiple scars on his body. Dark jeans. Short red hair. Black glasses. Normal build. Coal black eyes. Sharp canines. Straight face. Black cloak and dark gloves.

**Theme: **"I stand alone" **Godsmack**

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><p><strong>Name: <strong>Haruhi Ryusaki (rainbowkitteh)

**Age: **15

**Gender:** Female

**Personality:** She can seem mysterious, and often seen day dreaming. During that time, it's like everlasting peace for her, its the place she can get away to if she is stressed. The rest of the time she is a well mannered girl, and let's her imagination run wild with beautiful things, and she is always there for you.

**Bio: **Her childhood was quite boring, and there was only a few times anything interesting happened, which is where she developed the habit of day dreaming. When she reached the age of ten, her mother was killed in a car accident and brought Hatuhi to tears. A year later, her father died for unknown reasons, and thus she was taken to a foster home, but she ran away. She hated the food, the smell and everything about that foster home, and when she ran away, she felt proud.

**Apearal: **She has shoulder length wavy dark chocolate brown hair, which on each side of the bangs, there are a few strands of hair that have beads attached. Her eyes are lime green, and her mother used to tell her they reminder her of growing plants. Her skin is quite pale and has a small blush of redness, due to the cold she has in the present time. She is also skinny and her height is 5'6. She wears a light blue T-shirt and a red sweater, she also wears camouflage pants like the ones people who are in wars wear, and has military boots with the pants tucked in.

**Theme: **"Believe In Myself" **Karen Brake**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Marc Phantom (Thefriendinme)

**Age: **23

**Gender:** Male

**Personality: **A good man to have as a friend. He may seem like a tough guy, but deep down, he's just a lovable guy with the heart of a lion and a strange obsession for marvel comics.

**Bio: **Born and raised in the city of New York, Marc developed a strange obsession with comic books, especially Spiderman. Due to this obsession, Marc has developed his own comic series called: "The adventures of the blacksmith" taking place in medieval times. It follows a young blacksmith on a quest to save his kingdom from a dark force. Everyone he meets thinks of him as a psychopath, though his family and friends think of him as someone 'Special'. He loves comics so much, he knows how to do everything the heroes due and more. He calls it: "Comi-Jitsu!"

**Apearal: **Blue jeans and t-shirt with the words, in black print, "I'm with stupid" and an arrow pointing to the left.. His skin is lightly tanned and he has short black hair. His eyes are emerald green. White shoes with a black spider web design on it.

**Theme: **"Help is on the way" **Rise Against**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Lara Crai(Kaze Shiroini)

**Age:** 24 (Deceased)

**Gender:** Female

**Personality:** A beautiful succubus that will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Her charm can work on anyone she comes in contact with. She loves making one's love life suffer or just killing the couple.

**Bio:** In her teens and 20's, she was quite the charmer. Any man that saw her had fallen into a deep charm. But there was one man who she loved. The sad part was, her charm didn't work on him. She tried everything she could, but it never worked. He loved someone else. She tried burning down her loves house, but only got herself an ugly burn that covered half her body. She decided that if she couldn't have him, nobody could either. Some time sfter her accident, she put on a victorian style dress, mask, and killed her love. She wanted to be with him forever so she killed herself. Her soul continues to walk the earth. She looks for her lover, wondering if he's looking for her, too. If any lovers come in her way, she will slaughter the women and burn the men. If you see her, run. She will not give you, nor anyone, any mercy. When a couple is killed, she will rip out their hearts. She tears the hearts in half and sews the couples' hearts together, she thinks that her love will like them as gifts.

**Apearal: **Black victorian dress, a mask to cover her eyes, like at a masquerade. Long brown hair with black streaks. Eyes the color of sapphires. Slim build. Large burn marks and scars covering the left half of her body.

**Theme: **"Good girl gone bad" **Rihanna**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Alexis Pride (justice33)

**Age: **14

**Gender:** Female

**Personality: **Quiet, thoughtful, and a good strategist. She loves chess and reading.

**Bio: **Alexis is quite intelligent for her age. She lives with her mom and her older brother sam. She has no idea who her dad is. Alexis is very close to her brother. He taught her how to fight. Despite being bad at hand to hand combat, Alexis is perfect at throwing knives, archery, guns, and fans. One day her brother disapeared and left behind a note. It said 'meet me at the tournament' Alexis immediantly left her home prepared for battle.

**Apearal: **Appearance: plain white shirt with mini-jean shorts. Belt with holster for gun. Back pouch for arrows and bow. Alexis also has white leg warmers that have strange specks of red near her feet. Alexis has jet black hair that is wrapped up in one long braid. Her eyes are bright green.

**Theme: **"Follow me" **Kay Hanley**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Shiroini no Kaze (Kaze Shiroini)

**Age: **21

**Gender:** Female

**Personality: **Strong, bold, hard-headed, and caring, Kaze doesn't show much liking to the one she likes. She will be rude when she needs to be (when her crush accuses her of liking him.) Her mouth can get her in a bit of trouble once-in-a-while. She acts affectionate with everyone, but Marth. When furious, she will hold her sword up, causing a ball of wind to form. It will cut her enemies. Her light lavender eyes will glow when she wants them to. She was thhe prince's friend, but soon became known as a murderer. Years later, she joined Prince Marth's army as a hired mercenary. She does drink beer, whether in class, at lunch, or in her room.

**Bio: **Kaze Shiroioni used to be Akai Umi, but she had been sentenced to 20 years in prison after 'brutally murdering' her parents and brother when they lived in Altea. Akai would hang out with the prince when she was 12. Her hair started to change from orange with red tips to her tri-colored purple hair. She escaped and moved to Talys. She became a better swordswoman after time and joined the princes army. She did try to tell the prince that she likes him, but totally failed. Things that slipped out were rude comments. She fails when it comes to her feeling. Every 4 hours, her blood brakes the lining of her stomach, causing her to release it through her mouth. Her blood lives longer than it should, and continues to make it as if it does die when its supposed to.

**Apearal: **Male school uniform. Lavender hair down to her shoulders, purple hair down to her hips, and dark purple hair down to her ankles. She wears a black eyepatch on her right right side of her bangs go down to her collar bone and the left side goes down to the bottom of her chin. Kaze has 3 bangs that go down to her eyebrows on her left side. Light lavender eyes. Her voice is deep for a girl.

**Theme: **"Reflection"** Christina Aguilera**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Shiroioni no Tsuchi (Kaze Shiroini)

**Age: **21

**Gender:** Male

**Personality: **Quiet, cocky, kind, and a great listener. He cares a lot for his sister and friends. He despises Marth because he likes Shiida and that his sister likes Marth. He always has, either, a fuck off look or a smirk on his face. He will smoke in the lunch room and dorm room. He does often fight with the prince.

**Bio: **Tsuchi Shiroioni use to be a man named Yakutatanai Kekkan, but had murdered many people in his home country of Gra. He left the country for a while and met Akai, his hair changed from green with gold tips to his tri-colored, purple hair and came back as Tsuchi Shiroioni. He's like a vampire, but it's only because his blood dies quickly, but makes it as it lives as long as it should. After he finds out that his twin is Kaze, he sets out to find her. When he arrives in Talys, he meets Shiida. It was love at first sight for him. He tried to tell her, but he stutters more than a normal guy does. He and Kaze work in pairs. When his blood dies, Kaze has to release hers. She gives him a kiss so that he gets the blood.

**Apearal: **Wears a black hoodie with the hood up, always. Dark Lavender eyes. His hair is dark purple on top and down to the bottom of his head. Purple from the bottom of his head to halfway through his neck, and lavender to his shoulders. The bangs on the right side of his face go down to his chin, then he has three banga above his left eye and then three bangs that go down to his collar bones. He has a deep voice.

**Theme:** "Servant of evil" **Len Kagamine**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Jake Jackson (Lucpokemonyus) (-)

**Age: **14

**Gender:** Male

**Personality: **A boy who will stand up for his friends. He will always try to help his friends out... sometimes.. He is flirty. He is also spoiled and kind of self-centered

**Bio:** He had a fairy good life. His parents are rich and allow him to have anything he wants. He is an only child. At age 7 he was interested in fencing after seeing a movie. When he was 13 his parents got a letter claiming they would kill his parents in 6 days unless they got 1 million dollars from each of them. The mother gave in the money to be sure nothing would happen just incase. His father died 7 days later. He was revenge driven until he was sent to Military school for messing up his mothers date and came back when he was 14.

**Apearal:** Dirty blonde hair with natural brown highights ( He hates them don't mention them to him.) green eyes that seem to glow in the dark according to his mom. He is 5,6. He usually wears a brown shirt with a fencing sword on it and jeans.

**Theme: **"Wont back down" **Johnny Cash**

* * *

><p><strong>Name:<strong> Amy Yukine (Sarah The Awesome)

**Age: **14

**Gender:** Female

**Personality: **She is a ditz who can fight. She wil run head first into things without thinking it through. She is very oblivious and has a very bad sense of direction. She has a fear of bugs. She is also unlucky. She is like a comdic releif in her hometown and is known as the cheerful one.

**Bio: **She was born into a very normal life, A Mother and a Grandfather. Her father died right before she was born in a car accident. She had an interest in swords after watching a old home video of her Grandfather swordfighting his father. She got a trainer at 10 and is still learning swordfighting and is picking up on lighting sorcery. Her grandfather died after she started to learn sorcery leaving her in a slightly depressed state but she bounced back and is still her normal self.. unless you mention the word father. She is now in her world living it through. She has a talent for singing.

**Apearal: **She has teal hair that goes down to the top of her neck only allowing it to be in a curly side ponytail. She wears a teal top that has see-through sleeves in kimono style. She wears a white skirt with short leggings that you can see underneath. She has sliver eyes.

**Theme: **"The Sun Rises" **Okami soundtrack. *Sees Amaterasu glaring at him* What? It suits her**

* * *

><p><strong>Name: <strong>Ray Turner (MahNati)

**Age:** 18

**Gender:** Male

**Personality:** If there was one word that could define great part of Ray's personality is socialpath. He's a pretty cinic and sarcastic guy who sees people as mere chess pieces. He can be pretty sadic, but uses this mostly to make black humor or dead baby jokes. Ray also; however, is very creative and, just like Laura, has a great ability to write (however he's more into poems, while she is more into articles). He hides this taste for poetry and art from others, though. Even though he shows to be pretty indeferente to others problems, he does care about people who are close enough to him (very few, by the way) and will try to help them if they are in need. According to him, the moment you've become his friend ("tolerable", in his words) is when he stops having this urge to punch you in the face.

**Bio:** Ray grew up with his mother, since his dad ran aways when he was only 3 years old. He remembers his mother being one of the sweetest person he ever met. However, in his first years of school he suffered a lot of bullying, which made him get pretty anti-social. But that is one of the few things he could remember when he suddenly woke up in a totally strange house, filled with people he doesn't remember how he met, but still got the feeling he knew them his whole life.  
>Strange things started to happen in his life, and he got the feeling he was being watched the whole time. However, he tried to have a normal life, trying to convive with those people and trying to discover where his mother went. Maybe this is why he didn't get so surprised when he suddenly woke up one day and discovered he suddenly had the strength and could grow the claws of a vicious chimera. "Let just get this done, so I can get back to my life..." sighs in frustration.<p>

**Apearal: **He has messy blonde hair, piercing turquoise eyes and a very lightly tanned skin. Ray has caramell colored chimera ears and tail, and also a pair of wings that don'tdo absolutely nothing (much to his dismay and hate. He basically calls them his appendix). He wears a white shirt with black collar linning, a crimson zipped jacket, thorned dark grey jeans and white and grey tennis shoes.

**Theme: **"Madder"** Groove armada**

* * *

><p><strong>NINTENDO (and or third party) Characters:<strong>

Hi: Returning character

_Hi_: Newcomer

(OUT!): The character has been eliminated from the tournament.

(-): Means a character has one a match. The more "-" means the more wins.

**Mario Universe: 9**

Mario  
>Luigi<br>Peach  
>Bowser<br>Wario  
><em>Waluigi<em>  
><em>Bowser Jr.<em>  
><em>Daisy<em>  
><em>Toad<em>

**Metroid Universe: 1**

Samus-Zero Suit

**Fire Emblem Universe: 5**

Ike  
>Marth<br>Roy  
><em>Caeda (Shiida in the first few chapters)<em>  
><em>Zelgius<em>

**Kirby** **Universe: 5**

Kirby  
>Meta Knight (-)<br>King Dedede (-)  
><em>Knuckle Joe<em>  
><em>Waddle Doo<em>

**Sonic Universe: 8**

Sonic  
><em>Tails<em>  
><em>Knuckles<em>  
><em>Eggman<em>  
><em>Shadow<em>  
><em>Silver<em>  
><em>Enerjak<em> (-)  
><em>Amy<em>

**Game & Watch Universe: 1**

Mr. Game&Watch

**Earthbound Universe: 4**

Ness  
>Lucas<br>_Porky_  
><em>Paula<em>

**Kid Icarus Universe: 4**

Pit  
><em>Dark Pit<em>  
><em>Magnus<em>  
><em>Phosphora<em>

**Pokemon Universe: 5**

Pikachu  
>Lucario<br>Jigglypuff  
>Mewtwo<br>Pokemon Trainer

**Yoshi Universe: 2**

Yoshi  
><em>Birdo<em>

**Legend of Zelda Universe: 6**

Link  
>Zelda<br>Sheik  
>Ganondorf<br>Toon Link  
><em>Tetra<em>

**Star Fox Universe: 5**

Fox  
>Falco <em><strong>(OUT!)<strong>_  
>Wolf (-)<br>_Slippy_  
><em>Krystal<em>

**DK Universe: 5**

DK  
>Diddy Kong <em><strong>(OUT!)<strong>_  
><em>Baby DK <strong>(OUT!)<strong>_  
><em>King K. Rool <strong>(OUT!)<strong>_  
><em>Kritter <strong>(OUT!)<strong>_

**F-Zero Universe: 1**

Captain Falcon

**Pikmin Universe: 1**

Olimar

**Metal Gear Universe: 1**

Solid Snake

**? Universe: 2**

R.O.B  
>Ice Climbers<em><strong> (OUT!)<strong>_

**Jak'n Daxter Universe: 1 "AHEM!" 1 1/2 "Better."**

_Jak_ ("AND DAXTER!") fine _'and Daxter'_

**NICKtoons Universe: 6**

_Danny Phantom_  
><em>Timmy Turner<em>  
><em>Sheen Estevez<em>  
><em>Dudley Puppy<em>  
><em>Jimmy Neutron<em>  
><em>Spongebob Squarepants<em>

**Rayman Universe: 2**

_Rayman_  
><em>Globox <strong>(OUT!)<strong>_

**Crash Bandicoot Universe: 3**

_Crash Bandicoot_  
><em>Crunch Bandicoot<em>  
><em>Aku Aku<em>

**Samurai Jak Universe: 1**

_Samurai Jak_

**TMNT Universe: 5**

_Leonardo_  
><em>Donatello<em>  
><em>Raphael<em>  
><em>Michelangelo<em>  
><em>Shredder<em>

**Okami Universe: 1**

_Amaterasu_

**Megaman Universe: 6**

_Megaman_  
><em>Protoman<em>  
><em>X<em>  
><em>Zero<em>  
><em>Roll<em>  
><em>Bass (-)<br>_

**Marvel Universe (Where does this ring a bell?): 8**

_Deadpool_  
><em>Ironman<em>  
><em>Taskmaster<em>  
><em>Sentinel <strong>(OUT!)<strong>_  
><em>Magneto<em>  
><em>Wolverine<em>  
><em>Shuma-Gorath<em>  
><em>Iron Fist<em>

**Street Fighter Universe: 5**

_Ryu_  
><em>Akuma<em> (-)  
><em>Gouken<em>  
><em>Ken<em>  
><em>Juri Han<em>

**Kingdom Hearts Universe: 3**

_Sora_  
><em>Riku<em>  
><em>King Mickey<em>

**Ape Escape Universe: 3**

_Specter_  
><em>Pipo Monkey <strong>(OUT!)<strong>_  
><em>Spike <strong>(OUT!)<strong>_

**Final Fantasy Universe: 2**

_Cloud Strife_  
><em>Black Mage<em>

**Ninja Gaiden Universe: 1**

_Ryu Hayabusa_

**Klonoa Universe: 1**

_Klonoa_

**Devil May Cry Universe: 1**

_Vergil_

**Grand Total: 130!**


	2. Warning: A Challenger Approaches

**Prologue**

Warning:  
>A Challenger Approaches!<p>

* * *

><p><strong>"A dark void...<strong>

**no light...**

**no sound...**

**this is what I call my own living hell.**

**All because of that t**reacherous hand.****

**I give him life and this is how he repays me.**

**I've been stuck in this hellhole for 50 years...**

**but my time shall soon be here.**

**For tomorrow is the beginning of his beloved smash tournament.**

**And he will regret the day he betrayed the Orvus Creig"**

* * *

><p>A white plain. Nothing but white for as far as the eye can see. Except for one thing. A boy, fifteen years of age. He wore black shoes with seven golden rings painted on each side. A pair of blue shorts and a black tank top with a fire like design. A golden chain hanging around his neck connected to a small silver scroll held with a golden ring. His hair was raven black and it went down to his neck. His eyes shined like rubies in the sun.<p>

"Where the hell am I?" He asked as he continued to walk the endless plain. His voice sounded angelic. As he was walking, he spotted something out in the distance. "Whose there?" He entered a defensive stance as the creature moved closer and closer to him. When he was close enough, the boy was able to make out his appearence. It was nothing more than a black silhouette of a boy, two or three years younger than him, glaring at him with blue eyes. It charged towards him. Delivering a punch in his stomach and another on the side of his face, causing him to drop to the ground. He tried to get up, but the silhouette stopped him by slamming his foot in his face. He yelled in pain, much to the silhouette delight. He grab the colorless shadow's foot and was able to toss him aside and delivered a kick to his jaw. He could hear the silhouette's bones crack. Pleased with his work, he continued to walk the landscape until he heard something behind him. The silhouette charged towards him with his hand extended. It's hand erupted in a flash of light. When it dimmed down his hand appeared as if it was made of gold. having no time to react, the silhouette grabbed his face and smashed him to the ground. It was then that the white plain began to crack and dissolve before his very eyes. The white plain that was once around him was now nothing more then a dark void.

The silhouette had changed into a young twelve year old boy. His eyes were aqua blue. He wore white shoes with a signature on them, blue shorts, and a red t-shirt with a blue hedgehog-like creature on it. His hair was very similar to the hedgehog's quills, but they were more curved outwards. The most stunning feature was the mark on his right glowing hand. It was a heart with two sword upon it. It had large yellow K on the top and a banner which read 'Long live the king'. It also featured the top half of a king seen on a playing card (1). The younger boy tightened his grip on the older boy's face. It was then that the youngest spoke. "This hand of mine glows with an awesome power. It's burning grip tells me to defeat you!" He tightened his grip even more, causing the boy to scream a bloodcurdling scream. Then everything went black...

* * *

><p>"Barren. Wake up. Helloooooo. Anybody home? WAKE UP ALREADY!"<p>

"AHHHHHHH!"

That was all that the boy, now known a Barren was able to say as he plummeted to the floor of his room. He looked up to see a boy, a year older than him, he wore a black GI with a white dragon extending from the bottom of his right leg to the his left shoulder. He had brown sandals and his was styled with a large spike of brown hair to the left. His eyes were a green.

"What do you want Cain" Barren said as he picked himself up from the floor and began to fix his bed.

Cain only responded by pointing at his forehead. When Barren touched he realized that it was covered in sweat. He must have heard him screaming and figured he had a nightmare. "Was it that same one or something more interesting?"

"I don't know I keep having that same dream every night. It's been like this for months now. I know I've seen that boy before, but-" He stopped once he realized that Cain was gone. "YOU ASK ME A QUESTION AND THEN YOU JUST LEAVE?"

"I left so I wouldn't have to listen to that same old speech for the 37th time!" He called back

Barren sighed. He's been having that same dream every night for 7 months. Things have changed since his friend left. He resides at a dojo with his cousin Cain and a few other students. His friend trained with him and and his cousin with his grandfather, Master Asia. It's been three years since he left. He remembered everything about him. What he liked, what he disliked, his favorite places, his favorite foods. He just can't remember his name. The boy in his dream reminded him of his friend, due to that mark on his hand. The mark of the king of hearts. His friend had obtained it 3 years ago, which is why he left.

He quickly placed on his clothes and walk out of his room. His grandfather was meditating in the center of the room. He wore a purple GI with yellow details and a scarf around his waist. His eyes were black and his was tied into a ponytail. Seeing as he was in deep meditative state he slowly crept up behind him and prepared to pounce on him until... "Hello Barren. "

"DAMN IT!" He cursed. "How do you always do that."

"You'll find out when you older." He got up from his meditative position and faced Barren. "Did you sleep well tonight?"

Sighing, Barren responded. "No... But I know that boy from somewhere. He reminds me of my old friend."

"Just be patient. I'm sure the answer will come to you any moment now. But remember, I can't tell you his name."

"I know. You told me that yesterday... and the day before that... and the day before that... and the day before that...and the day bef-"

"I get it." With that, Asia left. That was a normal day for Barren. Cain would usually annoy the living shit out of him and Asia would be wise and mysterious. But little did he know that this is more than just a normal day.

xXxXx

Later, outside the dojo, Barren decided to go to his favorite place in all the dojo. Dream Lake. It's a beautiful, crystalline watered lake with a waterfall not far from the margin. This natural miracle of a lake was loved by all students of the school of master Asia, but not as much as Barren did. He remembered that in the past no one could even think of a name for it. That until his friend came...

**}Begin Flashback{**

A 9 year old Barren sat at the small hill in the center lake with another boy, about three years younger than him with all the same features from the boy in his dream. However he wore a red GI with a large blue dragon that extended from his left foot to his right simply sat there, admiring the scenery that was before them. They enjoyed everything about that lake.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The younger one asked.

"It sure is." Barren said. "You see this lake was passed down from every generation of the king of hearts. Currently my grand father is in possession of this marvel. But he told me that when he passes away, it will be all yours."

"Wow. I can't wait to actually be the owner of this place. Imagine all the stuff I could do hear."

"Not much."

"Well, for starters, this place is in serious need of a name."

"Why? This place has been easily recognized as 'the lake'. Why give it a name?"

"I like naming things. For example this tree is Belladonna."

Barren only stared at the boy. "Your really weird. Sometimes I wonder how **you **could be the king of hearts."

"You and me both brotha." He stood up and continued to gaze upon the horizon. "You know, before I came here, I had a dream that I was fighting a boy a lot like you in these waters. I remember that he told me that this water will grant one's wildest dreams. That's it!"

"What's it?"

"The name of the lake of course." He gestured for him to get up. "This place is exactly like my dream and people have said that this place's beauty could only be seen in dreams right?"

"I don't see where your going with this."

"Why don't we name it 'Dream Lake'!"

After thinking about it for a while, Barren decided that it was actually a perfect name for such a magnificent place. And thus, 'Dream Lake' was born.

**}End Flashback{**

His name. What was his name? Jack? Martin? Dylan? Who knows? Asia Knows, but he wont tell him. He stood on the hill and kept looking at the water. He cupped some in his hands and drank some. He wondered if his friends dream and his dream was real. He just look at his own reflection. It was then, when it happened. He stiffened. Something in his body told him it was coming. The birds stopped singing, the fish stopped jumping and the frogs stopped croaking. It was quiet. Too quiet. Then it appeared. Bursting out of the water was a large, serpent like, florescent green dragon. It eyes were a bloody red and it's claws and teeth were stained with blood.

"Oh Hell." Barren muttered as the large dragon lunged towards him. He was able to dodge his head, but wasn't so lucky with it's tail. It slammed into the tree causing it to shake and rustle. The dragon charged towards him again and attacked him with his claws. Barren counteracted sliding underneath him and delivering a kick to his stomach and another on his leg. Though this didn't seem to phase it in any way whatsoever, he continued until it slithered around him, boxing him in with no way of escape. The dragon moved faster and faster and faster until it's entire body was nothing more than a green blur. Lighting began to erupt from the blur and was aimed towards the center, where Barren was. They pierced his body, causing his entire body to begin bleeding. Blood was leaking down to the floor, only to make the dragon move even faster causing more electricity with a greater force. Barren screamed in pain as the ring that the dragon was emitting due to his speed began to shrink, hitting him with more intensity and more carnage. He could of sworn that half of his blood was on the floor. He began to cough up blood. But even so he did not give up. Even while being electrocuted, he entered a meditative state and began to chant. "I call upon the 9 elements that make up our world. Time, Water, Earth, Fire, Space, Metal, Ice, Air, Magic... Grant me your power!" A white orb appeared in Barren's hands and began to grow. The dragon had quickly cancelled it's electric attack and flew into the air ready for another attack. It charged towards him with full force. His claws and teeth had turned red, redder than before and a dark orb of pure energy appeared in his mouth. Barren extended his hands and yelled. "**エレメンタルブレイズ!**(2)" (Elemental Blaze) The large white orb contacted with the dark orb pushed the dragon back. The energy was to much for the dragon to withstand and it dissolved to a pile of green dust which was carried away by the wind. "I never thought I would have to use Elemental Blaze till I completed my training."

He panted heavily. Blood was slowly dripping from his body. He was going to return home until an envelope hit his face. It was had a smash symbol on it and had Barren's name on it. He opened it and found a letter and a small black box with a button that looked like the smash symbol. He read the letter out loud.

**Dear recipient**

**If you are reading this, you were able to defeat one of the Fighting Dragon Team****.**

**I personally sent that dragon as test of your battling skills as a fighter.**

**To put it simply, you are one of the most skilled fighters in all of world**

**Which is why I have invited you to attend the fourth Super Smash tournament.**

**And of course I cant forget the prize.**

**The prize: The Shuffle Key!**

**If you wish to attend, simply press the button on the small device I gave you. It should teleport you the smash train station.**

**Train leaves tomorrow, 7:45 AM.**

**Sincerely,**

**Master Hand.**

**PS: Think wisely before accepting.**

'hmmm' He thought. 'So this 'Master Hand' wants me to attend a fighting tournament? If I can keep the Shuffle Key out of the wrong hands, I'll be rewarded beyond my wildest dream by the other students.'

He raced back home, anxious to tell his grandfather about his discovery and worried on how he'll react when he sees him in his current state.

* * *

><p>Red dust was blown away by the wind in an alley. There stood a fifteen year old girl with shoulder length wavy dark chocolate brown hair, which on each side of the bangs, there are a few strands of hair that have beads attached. Her eyes were lime green, and her skin is quite pale and has a small blush of redness, due to the cold she has in the present time. She was also very skinny. She wore a light blue T-shirt and a red sweater, she also wore a pair of camouflage pants like the ones people who are in wars wear, and has military boots with the pants tucked in. She was holding a similar note to the one barren was holding.<p>

"A fighting tournament huh?" She pondered. "Maybe I shouldn't... but then again, it's got to be better than living in the middle of the street."

She walked away, thinking on how this tournament would be. Only she would find something she would have never imagined.

* * *

><p>Purple and blue dust was washed away by the ocean. Standing at said beach were to warriors.<p>

One was a twenty one year old woman wearing a male school uniform. Lavender hair down to her shoulders, purple hair down to her hips, and dark purpl ehair down to her ankles. She wears a black eyepatch on her right right side of her bangs go down to her collar bone and the left side goes down to the bottom of her chin. Kaze has 3 bangs that go down to her eye brows on her left side. Her most eye popping feature were big boobs. Her eyes were lavender and her voice was deep for a girl.

The other was a man of the same age wearing a black hoodie with the hood up. Dark Lavender eyes. His hair was dark purple on top and down to the bottom of his head. Purple from the bottom of his head to halfway through his neck, and lavender to his shoulders. The bangs on the right side of his face went down to his chin, then he has three bangs above his left eye and then three bangs that go down to his collar bones. He had a deep voice.

They were both holding they same note as Barren.

"Super Smash Tournament?" The man questioned.

"Hey, I remember Prince Marth telling me about this." The woman said. "He said it's a fighting competition where the strongest warriors of the universe compete for glory. And apparently, this year there's a prize."

"Is Shiida participating?"

"I don't know. She might."

"If she isn't, I'll leave. No questions asked"

"Just because of a girl?"

"Yep."

"You really need to understand women."

They began to walk back to there army's campsite. Unaware of a dark figure watching them in the horizon.

"So, they too have received the invitation." The figure chuckled. "Hopefully they wont interfere. Ike! I, Zelgius, am coming to that tournament! Be prepared to meet your death!" He let out a maniacal laugh that could probably be heard miles away.

* * *

><p>Brown dust was whipped away by the ever strong winds in front of a suburban house. There stood an eighteen year old man wearing a white shirt with black collar linning, a crimson zipped jacket, thorned dark grey jeans and white and grey tennis shoes. His hair was blonde and messing and he had piercing turquoise eyes and lightly tanned skin. The most stunning fact of this man were his caramel colored Chimera ears, tail, wings and claws. He was holding, yet another note.<p>

"A fighting tournament eh? This just might be the excitement I need. After all, it has been pretty quiet. Plus I'l finally be able to put these claws to a good use other than cutting pineapples open. I like pineapples."He looked to the reader. "Do you like pineapples? There rich in vitamin C and Manganese. Did you know that in Brazil they have this incredibly sweet pineapple? It's called _abacaxi. _Some people with weak stomach might not like putting pineapples in a blender. But it's better than putting a dead baby in the blender. O.K., O.K., we all know dead baby jokes are sick, but then again laughter is the best medicine, isn't it? also-"

* * *

><p>Orange dust-<p>

**"HEY! I WASN'T FINISHED YET!"**

DEAL WITH IT! Orange dust was being vacuumed away by... a vacuum cleaner. Several vacuum cleaners I might add. A large amount of butlers and maids were cleaning the orange dust away on the top of a mansion. There stood a fourteen year old boy wearing a brown shirt with a fencing sword upon it. He wore a pair of jeans and his hair was dirty blond with brown highlights. His eyes were emerald green. He too was holding the note.

"Master Jake," One of the butlers started. "are you sure about entering the tournament?"

"That depends." Jake said. "When does mom come home from her business trip?"

"Next week actually."

"I got time. But there is no way I'm taking a train. CHAPMAN! PREPARE THE LIMOUSINE! WE LEAVE TOMORROW, 5:00 AM SHARP!"

"Yes Master Jake."

Jake was pleased that his mother wouldn't be back. After all, if he told her she would have said 'no' right then and there. His next stop: Smash Mansion.

* * *

><p>Yellow dust was again blown away by the gentle winds of a flowery meadow. There stood a fourteen year old girl wearing a plain white shirt with mini-jean shorts. She had a belt with a holster for gun and a back pouch for arrows and bow. She also had white leg warmers that had strange specks of red near her feet. She also had jet black hair that was wrapped up in one long braid. Her eyes are bright green. She, like the other seven that appeared in this chapter, was holding the note.<p>

"A t-t-tournament?" She stuttered. "Maybe that's where he went. Only one way to find."

She only looked at the small device in her hand. Many questions rushed up to her head, but she could only locate three:

1) Why me?  
>2) What the Hell is a Shuffle Key?<br>3) Is this the tournament that my brother told me to go find him?

* * *

><p>Lavender dust was blown away and a letter slowly drifting around. Then, a hand snatched the letter from the gentle breeze. The man was in his thirty's, wearing a black hoodie and black glasses which covered his fiery red coal black eyes. He wore a grey, ripped shirt and dark jeans. Through the holes of his shirt, various scars could be visible. He had a long black cloak, black shoes and and dark gloves. After reading the letter, the man smirked, reviling a row of perfectly sharp canines.<p>

He chuckled. "The legendary Shuffle Key. What a great prize and weapon. And soon, it will be mine!"

His chuckle turned into maniacal laugh as various silhouettes appeared around him. They all bowed at his presence.

* * *

><p>White dust was flying in the air around the streets of the big apple. There stood a seventeen year old man wearing a white T-shirt with, in black writing, the words 'don't mess with the Zohan.. He wore grey shorts, and white sneakers. His skin was tanned and he had a muscular build. He had a pair of ember eyes that went well with the pink streaks on his side bangs, which were tied up. He also had a black smiley face tattoo on his back. He also carried a sheathed Katana. He, like the others, was holding the note.<p>

"OOOOOoooo... A fighting tournament! I love fighting! Especially with my katana. I wonder if we watch movies while we're not fighting? I hope they have 'Don't mess with the Zohan', or in other words, 'Don't mess with me'!"

He ran like a speeding bullet into a hair salon, wondering how this tournament would be.

* * *

><p>Grey dust was blown away near a comic shop. There stood a twenty three year old man wearing blue jeans and t-shirt with the words, in black print, "I'm with stupid" and an arrow pointing to the left.. His skin was lightly tanned and he had short black hair. His eyes were emerald green. He also wore white shoes with a black spider web design on it. He, like the other nine warriors, was holding the note.<p>

"Super Smash Tournament?" He asked himself. "I'm a skilled fighter all right, but I'm not so sure..." He looked at the small device in his hand and thought it over. He wouldn't go. He was just you average comic fanboy who was able to reenact the heroes abilities. (You call that average!) He walked to the trash can and was about to throw the teleporter away untill he saw a poster of the same tournament. It had a complete list of characters and one of them caught his eye. "MARVEL! MARVEL CHARACTERS ARE IS GOING TO BE IN THIS TOURNAMENT! THAN OF COURSE I'M GOING!"

He jumped around like some crazy person, happy that his favorite heroes were going as well.

* * *

><p>Ember dust flew around a tall slim figure in the city of lights. It was a twenty four year old woman wearing a black victorian dress and a mask to cover her eyes, like at a masquerade. She had long brown hair with black streaks. Her eyes were the color of sapphires. Large burn marks and scars covered the left half of her body.<p>

"A tournament..." She grinned. "I **could** use a break from looking for my beloved Tank..."

She walk away, unaware of the shadowy figure panting heavily in an alley close behind her.

"**That** was a close one..."

* * *

><p>Pink dust was blown away in a small town. There stood a fourteen year old girl wearing a teal top that had see-through sleeves in kimono style. She wore a white skirt with short, visible leggings underneath. She had sliver eyes. She to held the note.<p>

"Hmm... I wonder what kind of misadventures there's gonna be there. After all, it has to have some random group of **interesting **people."

She wondered what types of people would be participating. After all, who wouldn't?

* * *

><p>Black, dark purple and dark blue dust was whipped a by the wind, only for it to be stuck in the trees of a forest. There stood three men each holding the note.<p>

One was a sixteen year old boy wearing a black T-shirt with a little devil on it. Grey shorts and black and red shoes. His black hair is styled into a short Mohawk and his eyes were crimson red.

The other was a twenty one year old man wearing white cloak with nine jewels on it. Black pants and a grey T-shirt. His eyes and his hair were black.

The last one was a thirty three year old wearing green camo pants and a grey camo shirt. Brown boots and a dog tag that said: "Greil". His eyes were blue and his hair was short and blond.

"A Fighting tournament?" The first one questioned.

"So this 'Master Hand' wants us to attend a tournament? " The second one said. "What do you think Bark?"

Bark wasn't listening. Something had caught his eye. It was king of spades playing card.

"What's this?" He thought.

He extended his hand to pick it up. This however, was a grave mistake. A dark aura enveloped his entire body. His friends screamed his name. When the aura cleared down, he was now wearing black cloak over a black tuxedo. A magicians top hat and he was holding an entire deck of cards.

The man gazed at his new form before chuckling, and this chuckle turned into a laughter.

"Finally! After fifty years of imprisonment, I am free!" He looked to the others who were paralyzed in fear. "You to will do just fine." He released a dark mist from his fingers. They entered the men's nostrils and they began to feel an intense burning sensation. The boy's eyes began to change colors and a pair of shackles appeared on his hand and the man's hair disappeared and a drama mask appeared on his face.

"What the hell happened?" The boy questioned, that is until he recognized the man with the cards. "ORVUS!"

"So you escaped." The man said.

"Yes my men. And tomorrow will be the day our empire rises again!" He showed the others the note, making them both grin with pleasure. "OUR TIME HAS FINALLY COME! THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS WILL RISE AGAIN!"

**This **is gonna be one hell of a tournament.

* * *

><p><strong>The challengers have been chosen. Who will win? Who will lose? How will Asia react when he sees Barren in his condition and why weren't the others as messed up as him? Find out next time on: Super Smash Bros. Unlimited!<strong>


	3. Road to Smash City

**Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Bros. Nintendo does.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Road to Smash Mansion

* * *

><p>"Do I have to do this?" Barren asked as he and his grandfather walked out the dojo. He was carrying a large bag filled with various of his possessions. You don't have to be a genius to know where he's going. He felt his grandfather put a hand on his shoulder.<p>

"Barren, the shuffle key can be a dangerous tool in the wrong hands." He said. "You have to win or else there might be catastrophic consequences. Besides, your not going alone." Barren sighed as his cousin came to the two, also carrying a a large bag

"So, you ready to go?" The older cousin asked. Barren only agreed by nodding his head. "Then let's do this. Se ya gramps!" He yell as he walked took out his teleporter. With no hesitation, he pressed the large button and in a flash of light, he was gone. The younger cousin shook his head.

"Well I guess I'd better get going. Goodbye Master." Asia smiled at him.

"Barren, you know that you don't have to call me that." Barren shrugged before taking out his teleporter. He was about to go on the biggest adventure of his life and he didn't even know it. When he pressed the button, he too disappeared in a flash. "I'm sure your father would be proud."

* * *

><p>Master Hand impatiently 'walked' through the halls of the mansion. Though he had no facial expression, it was quite easy to tell he was nervous. The way he moved his fingers was a big giveaway. But when you think about it, who wouldn't be nervous for one of the biggest days of their lives. The smashers were finally going to return after a year, but this time, there's over a hundred of them! As he thought to himself, a loud rumbling sound occurred behind him. He turned to see Crazy Hand covered in rubble and yet another hole in the wall.<p>

"Crazy!" He yelled at his twin. "That's the fifth time this week! Can't be still for one moment! Especially today!" His only response was the hand shaking itself, his way of saying 'no'. If Master hand weren't just single hand, he would've slapped himself. "Crazy, you know that today's one of the most important day's of our lives. Can't you be just a little **less** crazy? Just for today?"

"NoPe." The deranged left hand replied. "AsKiNg Me To Be LeSs CrAzY iS lIkE tElLiNg YoU tO bE lEsS mAsTeR."

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

"I kNoW! tHaT's WhY i SaId It! AnD yOu CaLl Me ThE cRaZy OnE." Master let out a very audible growl. He was about to say something when he heard a voice. One he knew well and that he'd wished to never here it again.

"So amusing seeing to brothers fight." Master Hand turned around, but when he did, horror struck him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Orvus, Nicky and Litnor stood there, smirks on their faces. "It's been awhile, Mystin." At the name, Master hand froze up. Crazy saw the three and cheerily went next his brother.

"HeY bRo, LoOk! It'S oRvUs! YoU kNoW, tHe GuY yOu, Me AnD mAsTeR aSiA iMpRiSiOnEd A lOoOoOoOoOoNg TiMe AgO! aH, gOoD tImEs." Master Hand fired a laser at his twin.

"Same old Crastic." The card holder said as he watched the left hand be blown away by the blast. Master flinched at the word 'Crastic'.

"Orvus... how did you-"

"Did you really think that you could keep me imprisoned forever? That's a laugh. Besides I'm not here for you entirely. I'm here..." Orvus showed something to Master Hand, and the glove did not like it one bit. "For the tournament."

"What?" The hand questioned as he began to tremble in fear. "That can't be right..."

"Oh, but it is." He turned around and began to walk away. "I'll be on my way. Nicky, Litnor, move." As the three walked away, Master Hand's vision started to get blurry. He eventually found himself on the floor, almost losing consciousness. "I can't believe it... I have to tell Asia."

* * *

><p>Barren sat on a rock in the middle of nowhere.<p>

Wait... what?

That's right. Instead of a train, he ended up in the middle of nowhere. He sighed as look around the vast landscape, no train station or mansion in sight.

"Well this sucks..." He said before hearing a light snore. His head jolted backwards, only to see a small pink creature, sleeping on the floor. "What the?" He slowly walked towards the thing, unaware of what it was or how he missed it before. He quickly picked up a stick off the floor and began to poke the small creature. He watched as it stirred around slightly, slowly opening it's eyes. It's coal black eyes stared at Barren before sitting up.

"Hi." It said, startling Barren causing him to jump back. The pink creature looked around. "Where are we?" Barren couldn't speak. He just stared at the puffball. It was as if he had seen a ghost. "Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. Sorry about that. I'm Kirby, what's your name."

"Bar- Ah!" Barren struggled to keep his balance as he was slowly brought up into the air. He standing on a large metal disc which hovered above the ground. Kirby was on one as well. Barren struggled to stand on his feet, but he noticed that Kirby was having no difficulty at all. "How do you do that?"

"I've had practice with the warp star." He said before noticing something in the distance. "Hey, there are the other competitors! Come on!" Kirby quickly flied in that direction, Barren slowly following. When they arrived, Barren noticed several strange figures. Swordsmen, creatures, humans, angels, you name it. While flying he bumped into something.

"Hey, watch it!" A darkly dressed man said. Barren noticed his sharp canines. He scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." The man rolled his eyes.

"Well try paying more attention next time." The man went to the back of the pack. Barren found him rather rude, but quickly forgot him, once he found Cain in the middle of the pack.

"Hey Cain!" He yelled, getting the boys attention.

"Yo Barren!" He called back. "Thanks for waiting for me!" Barren chuckled. After a while, they saw what appeared to be...

Yes, it was it.

The legendary Smash City.


	4. Introductions and a Surprise Visitor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Bros. Nintendo does.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Introductions and a Surprise Visitor

* * *

><p>Barren and Cain stared at the large city ahead of them. It was composed mainly with sky scrapers and they looked like they were covered in silver. They weren't the only ones who were wowed by the sight. The majority of the warriors around them couldn't help but stare at the silver city. That's when barren notice something else, a large, purple glowing orb began to rise from the center of the city. Everyone stared at it in awe as it took to the skies. That's when they saw something else. The orb was in reality, a giant smash ball.<p>

"Wow." That was all Barren could say. It was to beautiful to describe. The only thing that he thought was more beautiful was Dream Lake, but still. It was a marvelous sight. Kirby came up to the boy warrior.

"Well, what do you think?" He said in his usually happy tone. But Barren didn't say anything. All he could was stare at the large orb in the center. "That's the Royal Smash Ball. It's the power source for the entire city. It's power is limitless so there's never been a blackout in the history of Smash City. And, it's right on top of the Smash Mansion."

That caught Barren's attention. "The Smash what?"

Kirby giggled a little. "Don't worry. you'll find out soon enough." Barren shrugged it off. He noticed that the floating disks they were on were descending, but just a little. Barely noticeable, but still.

"I guess we're going to land soon." Barren thought. The discs turned to the city's direction. Eventually they stopped in front of a large golden door with the smash symbol on it. The funny thing is, Barren, Cain and all the other warriors, heard something on the other side. It sounded like... cheering. Barren could already tell what was next. He sighed "I had a feeling something like this would happen."

Cain turned to his cousin. "What would happen?"

Barren sighed again. "I'm glad that I came here, but I don't know if this is right. We're going to be fighting for hundreds of people's entertainment."

Cain wrapped an arm around him. "And that's the coolest part! Do you even understand what's happening? We're going to be on TV! These guys are going to love us!"

Barren removed Cain's arm from around him. "That's not the point. We're going to be fighting solely for entertainment. Where's the honor in that?" Cain immediately realized what Barren was trying to say. Barren took his training much more seriously then Cain or any of the other students. Anything thing that his grandfather taught him, he would do it ten-fold. He only believed in fighting for honor. In his eyes, he just became a puppet for millions of people.

Kirby, who overheard this conversation, turned to the two boys, a small frown was on his face. "Barren, it's not like that at all. Sure these people enjoy watching us duke it out, but we have a ton of honor. Even Bowser fights a fair fight. We all have different fighting styles and none of us let all these people's cheering go to our heads... well, Sonic might, but he's Sonic for crying out loud."

Barren put an uneasy smile on his face. "Thanks Kirby."

"No problem!" Kirby's stomach began to growl. "I'm hungry."

Barren chuckled. "Your not the only one, when does this thing open anyway?"

Kirby put his 'hand' on his 'chin'. "Well, if I remember correctly, it can open when one of the newcomers unlocks it with the key."

"What key?" Cain asked. Barren was about to say something when a small object fell on his head and bounced into his hand. It was a small golden key.

"That key."

Barren's disc moved directly in front of a small keyhole. Barren looked at the key in his hands and back at the key hole. He heard the cheering get even louder. He took a deep breath and slowly stuck the key inside the hole. With one turn, the gates began to open. A large light flashed in Barren's face as the door began to fully open. He shut his eye's so they wouldn't be harmed by the powerful light. When he opened them again, he couldn't believe what he saw. He saw people. Thousands of people. They were all lined up as if they were waiting for a parade. He saw confetti everywhere. They're cheering was so loud, Barrens eardrums almost popped. Barren noticed that the discs began to move forward. He didn't look very fond of all this. He actually looked like he was spooked. But Cain on the other seemed to take it rather well. He waved from side to side, his eyes sparkiling with joy. Barren sighed at his cousin's reaction. They were like Yin and Yang. Barren was the more cautious type while Cain was a lot more 'hard headed'. Barren sighed again. After a rather long time, Barren saw something. It was a large stage with both Master and Crazy Hand on it. Behind it: the largest structure of the city. Unlike the others, it was red and it had a large golden smash symbol on it. And on top of it: The Royal Smash Ball. Separating them was a long red ribbon. Barren stared at the two hands, but he actually didn't look so surprised. He had seen stranger. After sometime, the discs stopped in front of the stage. And one by one, the smashers walked to the center of the stage, only to be greeted by a very large amount of cheers.

Master Hand cleared his 'throat', making everyone in the city stop. Every thing became very quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen," He started. "the smashers... are back!". The second said this, the entire city roared and yelled with pleasure. Barren and Cain covered they're ears due to the extremely loud sound. "130 warriors in a single fighting competition! The largest the world will ever see! 90 newcomers and the 40 original smashers of the years gone by!" The crowd cheered even louder, but Master stared at the fighters before him and noticed that a few of them were missing. "Unfortunatly there not all here at the moment, but either way, I'm sure they'll be here in time for the event!" Another cheer escaped the crowd. "And this year, we have a special treat:-" Be fore he could say anything, Crazy pushed him away.

"CoMmEnTaToRs!" He yelled.

Master got back up and shot a blur beam from his index finger, which blasted Crazy off the stage. "Crazy, can't you just do what we rehearsed?" The hand 'sighed'. "This year, we will be featuring commentators throughout all the matches of the tournament. They're composed of me, Crazy-"

"DoUgHnUtS!" Crazy yelled randomly.

"...Me, Crazy and three more special guests." Master snapped his fingers and three red chairs appeared next to him. "First we have a creature from the mushroom kingdom. He's been known mainly for his anger management problems and the fact he has a flower stuck on his head."

Can You guess who it is?

"Wiggler!" Wiggler fell from the sky and land on one of the chairs. There was a brief moment of silence. No one really expected to Wiggler there, not even the smashers from the Mario universe. But everyone took a few steps back when smoke started to come out of his ears. Master cleared his 'throat' again. "Next, we have hero from the land of Asgard. He' been known for his heroism, good looks and he weilds the hammer Mjölnir."

This one should be pretty easy.

"I present to you, the mighty Thor!" A large colemn of light appeared on the stage and Thor slowly dropped down to the stage. He was greeted by a very large amount of cheers, even from the some of the smashers. He smiled in response. A small amount of the smashers, or better yet, the heroes from the Marvel universe were a bit shocked to see the thunder god there, but they still applauded him, no less.

Thor turned to Master. "Master, I wish to thank you for allowing me to narrarate this marvelous spectacle."

"It's the least I could. And besides, I owe you for helping containing last year's fire incident." All eye's turned to the pokemon trainer, who put a cheesy smile on his face. Thor took a seat and Master cleared his 'throat' again. "Finally, we have a very special guest, all the way from Hong Kong."

At that, Barren tensed up a bit. "Hold on..." He thought. He turned his head to Cain. "We're from Hong Kong."

Cain raised rolled his eyes. "So what?" The strange thing is that while they had this conversation, they're mouths didn't move. They were speaking telepathically.

Barren looked to the reader. "Well technically Cain's reading my mind and talking to me telepathically. You see, he meditates a lot more then me (though you can't really notice) which somehow turned him into a telepath. Don't ask me, not even grandfather can explain."

Cain slapped his forehead. More '4th wall breaking'.

"He is known around as one of the greatest fighters of all time."

Barren shook his head. "Is he talking about... no, of course not." The entire crowd looked like they were about to burst of excitement. I'm pretty sure they already knew the answer. But Barren was still pretty weirded out. "I'm starting to think it is... but he would have told us... wouldn't he?" Cain shrugged.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present..." A figure jumped from between the crowd and landed on one of the many chairs. Needless to say everyone couldn't believe who was there, especially Barren and Cain. "THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST, MASTER ASIA!" The crowds roars were even louder then the ones for the smashers. Barren and Cain couldn't believe it. They're mentor, they're grandfather had come to the same place he inspired them to go... and he didn't even tell them about it. Asia could be seen whispering something into Master's 'ear'. When he finished, Master looked pretty surprised. "Is that so?" Asia nodded in response. "Well this was somewhat unexpected." Master snapped his fingers, two of the discs to pick up both Barren and Cain. The discs positioned themselves so that they were both next to Asia.

Barren tried his best to keep balance, while at the same time, he glared at Asia. "Do you mind explaining me what's going on?" That was shocker to the entire city, even the smashers. No one would speak to Master Asia like that. He was one of the most respected warriors in the entire world. And now some fifteen year old id comes up and starts yelling in his face?

Asia gave a chuckle. "Now Barren, is that any way to talk to your grandfather?"

Silence filled the entire city.

Master quickly began to speak again. "Well, what do you know! The undefeated of the east's grandchildren are here as well!" Master tried to get the crowd excited again, but they were still in shock. "Um..." He looked at Asia. "Now what?"

Asia shrugged. "Just keep going."

"Well... why don't we have last year's winner cut the ceremonial ribbon to officially start the tournament?" Great choice of words. The second he said that, the entire crowd took they're attention off Barren ans Cain and began to cheer again. "(Well that was easy) Alright then! Meta Knight, will you please?" The smashers cleared the way for Meta Knight. He was greeted with a large amount of cheers, but he really didn't seem to mind any of it. Barren noticed how he actually looked a little like Kirby. Just a little. Meta Knight approached the ribbon slowly before unsheathing his sword. He seemed to just stand there for sometime. The entire crowd waited and watch with excitement. This was it. With one slash, the ribbon was cut into to pieces. The original roster clapped and the crowd cheered the loudest cheer anyone had ever head. "Welcome to** Super Smash Bros. Unlimited!**" The smashers proceeded to enter the building, but Barren and Cain dropped of the discs and confronted Asia.

"You've got some explaining to do." Barren said menacingly.

"Yeah." Cain cracked his knuckles. "And we're not leaving until you answer everything."

Master came next to the two. "Did I mention that they're are only 64 rooms while there are 130 contestants?" Cain ran off leaving a cloud of dust behind him.

Barren slapped his forehead. "That's Cain for ya. Can't live with him and I'd gladly live without him. But getting back to the point, you have some serious answering to do!"

Asia put his hand on his shoulder. "All will be explained later. For now, just go inside and pick out a room."

Barren's eye twitched. "Do I look like a six year old? Why didn't you tell me you were coming? Honestly, you embarrassed me in front of an entire ci-" Crazy grabbed him by the arm and started to drag him to the building. "Hey! Let me go! We're discussing a family matter!"

"AnD yOu DiDn'T gIvE mE aNy ChImIcHaNgAs." He replied.

"What?"

As the two were arguing, Asia turned his attention to Master. "It happened, didn't it?"

Master sighed. "I felt even before he came to me, but he's not even supposed to be participating! It's because he possessed the competitor, Nicky and Litnor as well."

"Calm down. We've defeated him once, we can defeat him again. Orvus will not carry out his plans today, nor tomorrow."

Master 'raised an eyebrow'. "You seem very confident in Barren. What do you see in him that's so special?"

"Only time will tell. And by the way, nice acting." Before walking to the building.

"Oh please, you should have seen me at last year's Christmas party." Master followed Asia. "But there's one thing still bothering me." "Remember how I said there were some fighters missing? Well the fighters I saw there were heroes, not a single villain. Well, except for Wario and Waluigi, but still. Do you think he has something to do with this."

Asia stopped in his tracks. He looked to his old companion. "If so, we should get prepared for the worst."


	5. Meeting your comrades Part 1

**The Silver Lion Returns!**

**In the last Chapter:**

**Barren, Cain and all of the other smashers arive in smash city. However, Barren doesn't seem very happy about what he's seen so far and to make matters worse, his grandfather appeared as a commentator with out even telling him and he was humiliated in front of an entire crowd! But as this happened, not one villain was within the group of smashers. Where have they all gone? Find out now!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own a IPod, a MAC computer, a meat grinder, a Corvette, Super Smash Bros. or anything else other than my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Meeting your comrades Part 1

* * *

><p>"LET GO OF ME ALREADY!" Barren yelled as he was dragged by the hand of destruction inside Smash Mansion. He struggling to get out of the left hand's grip. However, it all proved to be in vain. Barren sighed in defeat, but that's when he was able to get a better look at his surroundings. The floors were made of marble tiles with a long red carpet leading to the living room. There were various photots of battle hung on the walls and the ceiling had many chandeliers. The living room was located in the cener of the mansion, Be connected to every hall in the mansion. You could see it from ever floor of the building as they only had railing acting as a wall. In this large room, Barren was finally released by Crazy, but before he could say anything, the hand stuffed a large box in his face. Barren stared at the box, now in his hands.<p>

"JuSt A lItTlE sOmEtHiNg To SaY: wElCoMe To ThE mAnSiOn!" With that, a puff of smoke engulfed the hand, but when it died down, Crazy was still there. Barren raised an eyebrow. "HuH? tHaT wAsN't SuPpOsSeD tO hApPeN." Another cloud of smoke, but no avail. "Oh, CoMe On!" Once again, no luck. "YoU kNoW wHaT, i'M dOiNg ThIs ThE fUn WaY!" Without hesitation, the hand rammed itself into the wall, creating a large, hand shaped hole in it. Barren watched as several Alloys dressed in construction worker outfits began to rebuild Crazy's mess.

"This place keeps getting weirder by the second." He said. However he was unaware of the small figure sneaking up behind him.

"Don't worry about Crazy, he's like that every day." Barren was startled by the surprise appearance. He turned to see Meta Knight staring at him, wrapped in his cloak. Barren's eyes went wide after seeing the star warrior observe him from head to toe.

"Oh! It's you." He said, before scratching the back of his head sheepishly, trying to remember his name. "Metal Knight, was it?" Meta shook his head. "Umm..Mini Knight?" His only response was a no. "Uh... Oh! Now I remember! It's Melon Knight! Right?" Meta Knight slapped his forehead, causing his cloak to unwrap. Barren was able to get a good look at him. When he saw Galaxia, his eyes widened once again.

"My name is Meta Knight." The star warrior said, but Barren wasn't listening. Meta could tell he was paying more attention on his sword then himself. "I take it you're familiar with blade." Barren nodded his head.

"How could I not know one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. My grandfather told me all about it."

"Ah, yes. The undefeated of the east. I've heard of him." He examined Barren again, getting a good look on the small scroll around his neck. "So he's one of them..." He thought. "Tell me Barren, what brought your grandfather to come to the tournament?" Barren scratched his head.

"I'm not quite sure actually." The star warrior stared at him confused. "He just... appeared. I'm just as confused you." Meta Knight was about to say something before a loud scream was heard. Barren immediately recognized it as a voice he knew to well. "Cain." Before he could even say anything, Cain ran past him with an angry female bounty hunter on his tail. "That can't be good."

* * *

><p>A pair of coal black eyes fluttered open. To be more precise, they belonged to the man who defeated the lavender dragon. You know, the guy Barren bumped into in chapter two. He scanned his surroundings, he was in some sort of deserted temple.<p>

"Where the Hell am I" He asked.

"What does it look like? We're stuck in the middle of a temple." The man turned around to see Ganondorf studying the writing on the walls of the ruin. He took a fighting stance before he heard a light yawn coming from the side. He saw the same woman the ember dragon slowly getting up on here feet. She, like him, was also confused.

"Okay, where the hell am I?" She asked, but the man continued to search around the temple. He saw various people, unconscious or trying to figure where they were. He saw Ganondorf, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Zelgius, , Mewtwo, Wolf, King K. Rool, one of his green Kritters, the Shredder, Magneto, a Sentinel, Shuma-Gorath, Akuma, Juri, Specter, one of his monkeys and Vergil. As they all searched for a way out, the man simply stood, observing his surroundings and the other villains. He placed a hand on his chin.

"Alright Dracicle, think." The man, now known as Dracicle, thought. "How exactly did I get here? The last thing I remember was..."

_FLASHBACK:_

_"Hey! Watch it!" He said as Barren bumped into him. The young warrior gave the man stare before scratching the back of his head._

_"Sorry. I didn't see you there" He said, causing Dracicle to roll his eyes._

_"Well try paying a bit more attention next time." Dracicle went to the back of the large, lying pack of fighters. The tournament hadn't even started and he already found an idiot. He wondered just how many more were there. He took the opportunity to examine some of the fighters. He could swordsmen, Pokemon and many other creatures. Some questionable, others: Reasonable. He continued to fly when something on the floor caught his eye. "Hmm." A small purple glow on the floor. While no one was watching, Dracicle moved towards the bright light and found a glowing playing card. "Interesting" He said before picking up the card to examine it properly. However, when he picked it up, Dracicle felt a large sensation of pain in his hand, causing him to drop the card. He saw that it was starting to be engulfed by the same glow. Before he could say anything, the glow had engulfed his entire body. When it died down, he was gone.  
><em>

_PRESENT:_

"Now I remember." He said to himself as the others were still trying to figure out how to get out. He faked a cough, hoping to get they're attention, but they didn't listen. They were to busy speaking with each other. "May I please have your attention." No one even gave him a glance. He stared at the others with an annoyed look. "Hello! May I have your attention!" Still nothing. He growled silently. You could literally see a little red vein pop in head. "SILENCE!" That everyone's attention. He quickly straightened himself out before continuing to speak. "Out of curiosity, did any of you come across a playing card before you woke up here?" The entire room fell silence. Know that they thought about, the very same scenario that happened with Dracicle, had happened to them. Dracicle heard the sound of a blade being unsheathed behind him. He turned to see Vergil, pointing his Yamato at him. The two glared at each other.

"How did you know this little piece of information?" The half demon asked, earning, Dracicle various stares from the villains. "Obviously you had something to do with this. you'd know better then to play games with the son of Sparda. Now tell me, where our we?" Dracicle lowered Vergil's blade with his thumb and index finger.

"It's no coincidence for all of us to randomly appear here together." He retorted. "I'm simply using logic." He felt Vergil trying to lift his blade back up, causing him to smirk. "And don't think I haven't heard of you half demon." Vergil stared at the man surprised. "I've study Sparda for most of my life and I've heard rumors about you." Vergil gave him glare. "You're pretty pathetic. Just face the fact: Your just a little boy trying to live up to your father's legacy." Vergil kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall on his back, and placed his Yamato on his neck.

"I'd watch that tongue of yours human." The smirk wouldn't leave Dracicle face. The man took something out of his pocket without Vergil noticing. Suddenly, the half demon felt a strange pain in his leg. He looked to see a kunai stuck in his leg. Dracicle, removed the blade from his neck before jumping back to his feet and giving the half demon a punch in the face. He fell back a bit before giving Dracicle glare. The two fighters charged at each other before a cloud of black smoke appeared between the two. They skidded to a halt as the others turned they're attention towards the cloud. Orvus and Litnor appeared when it died down.

"Gentlemen, please, save it for the tournament." Orvus said with smirk on his face, earning him stares from the entire room. Vergil pointed his blade at the two demons.

"And you are?" He asked, causing Orvus to chuckle.

"Oh! How uncivilized of me!" He walked passed the two men. "My name is Orvus Creig. And it was I that called you all here." Dracicle's eyes widened.

"Wait... **your** the one who put those cards there?" He asked.

"To be a bit more precise it was my Jack of Diamonds. One of my preferred cards. I use to do a few disappearing acts here and there." Many of the villains glared at him and even took out they're weapons. Orvus smirked and continued to talk. "Now, the reason I called you all here is simple: I'm in need of a few warriors to join me." The warriors stared at him. "I'm well aware of all of you. I know just about everything there is to know about your past, present and what your hearts most desire." He gave a look at Vergil, Dracicle, Akuma and Ganondorf. "Some of you want power..." He brought his attention Specter, his monkey, Bowser, Jr., King K. Rool, his Kritter, Magneto, Shredder and Shuma-Gorath. "...others, a new world order." He took a good look at the Sentinel. "Some our simply following orders..." He looked at the masked woman, Juri, Zelgius, Wolf and Mewtwo. "...others have there own personal agenda." He walked up to a large, dusty throne in the center. He wiped the dust of and sat down. "What I'm saying is that I can make all you dreams come true." The villains rolled there eyes. Some chuckled, others simply doubted him. "You doubt?" He snapped his fingers, causing a large bag with a dollar sign fall into Dracicle arms. He immediately reached in and pulled out various one hundred dollar bills. After some examining, he came to shocking conclusion, the were **not** counterfeit. "Is that enough proof for you? All you have to do is help me have my revenge on the one who imprisoned me fifty years ago." A large fire erupted between them all. An image appeared in the burning inferno. It was Master Hand. The original smashers stared at the man. They were a bit more surprised the the rest of them. "That treacherous hand put me in my own little piece of Hell! I've been in that place for fifty, counting every day and night that passed waiting to have my revenge! OOO,WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT OVER SIZED GLOVE, I'M GOING TO TEAR HIM PIECE FROM PIECE!" The louder he yelled, the large the flames became. He eventually calmed down, causing the flames to die down. "So... do we have a deal?" The villains immediately traded glances with each other. Orvus smirked as he saw them all nodding at each other. When they all stopped, Vergil opened his mouth.

"Alright Orvus, we're in." Orvus's smirk grew.

"Excellent!" He stood from his throne. "This will serve as our base of operations. If you ever need to come back..." He tossed everyone one of his playing cards. "Just tap the card an you'll be here in seconds. Now, allow me to say that the opening ceremony has already finished. Yes, I do mean that you are all very late. If we were to all go there together, I'm sure that the hand would be suspicious. So who's going first?" Everyone raised there hand, causing Orvus to slap his forehead. "This is gonna take a while... Nicky, I-" He looked around the crowd, but Nicky wasn't there. "Litnor, where's Nicky?" Litnor only shrugged, causing the card holder to groan.

* * *

><p>"OW!" Cain yelled as an ice pack was put on his head. Barren, Meta Knight and Kirby sat on the sofa around the injured boy. "That lying hand! He said we could pick a room, not that he already chose them for us!" The three shrugged.<p>

"It's a good thing I got to occupied with that other one before I ended up doing something stupid like you." Barren said, earning him a glare from Cain. "Plus I ended up getting a gift!" Barren hugged the large box tightly, causing Kirby and Meta Knight to slowly move away. "What's up?"

"I'd be careful with that." Kirby warned. "A lot of Crazy's presents our usually dangerous."

"I wouldn't hug it if I were you." Meta Knight finished for him, but Barren ignored their warning.

"Well, I'd better go find my room." He took to steps before stopping and looking at Cain, a smirk on his face. "My **actual** room." Cain glared even harder at his younger cousin. When Barren went away, Kirby gave Cain a stare.

"You know, you and Barren our pretty weird." He said, earning himself a confused stare from Cain.

"Your calling us weird?" He asked. "That's coming from a talking pink puffball who's stomach growls every two minutes." Kirby was about to protest when his stomach gave a rather loud growl. He sat back into his seat quietly. "I make my point."

"What Kirby's trying to say is that you two are very different from each other." Meta explained. "You're seem a bit more full of yourself and pretty perverted while Barren seems more calm and he has a strange habit of talking about of talking about this 'Silvermane' character." Cain rolled his eyes.

"You get used to that after a while." He said before realizing what Meta just said. "Hey! I am not perverted."

"You asked Samus what her 'size' was." Cain dropped his argument immediately. He sulked down on sofa. He was already injured and humiliated greatly by a princess holding a frying pan. The only thing that could make this day better was a beautiful girl asking for his help, but what are the chances of that happening?

"Excuse me." Cain's eyes shot opened when he heard that voice. In front of him was the same person who defeated the yellow dragon. He looked at her from bottom up and he immediately thought that he had died and gone to heaven, because he thought he was seeing an angel. He jumped onto his feet and put a sly look.

"Hello there little lady." He said imitating a cowboy accent. "There anything a fine damsel as yourself requests from this humble man." At first the girl stared at him confused, but she ignored his strange aproach and continued to talk.

"You wouldn't happen to know where 's office is, do you?" She asked. Cain smirked before putting an arm around her.

"Well of course I do!" He walked a few steps forward before letting the girl go. "Hold on, I forgot something." He walked back to the sofa and pretended to search for something, but in reality he went asked Meta Knight where Master's office was. Sighing, the star warrior gave the directions and Cain went back to the girl. "Sorry about that. By the way, my name's Cain. Your's?" The girl gave him a light smile.

"I'm Alexis. It's nice to meet you Cain." In Cain's head, he could tell that one thing was certain. He had hit the jackpot.

* * *

><p>Barren entered one of the many rooms of the mansion. He made sure to check if it was his room so he wouldn't end up like Cain. When he entered , he noticed the the room was rather big. It had a bunk bed, and the walls were a cherry red color. So was the carpet on the floor. There was a door leading to a bathroom and there was a small desk with a lamp on it. Not to mention the very <strong>very<strong> large TV. He shrugged before putting his present and his bag on the bottom bed. Barren sighed before climbing up on the top bed. He didn't even bother to unpack. He just layed down, closed his eyes and drifted into a soft sleep.

**10 minutes later**

Barren's eyes shot open. They were filled with fear and terror. He sat up from his position, panting heavily as he remebered the unpleasant dream he just had. The same nightmare. Why it tortured him? He had no idea. He shook his head before looking down, only to see his present on the floor. He thought his roommate had already come in and probably knocked it down, but there was no on there. Barren also noticed a rather large hole in it too. Before he could say anything, something jumped on his back, knocking him off the bed. He screamed as he landed on his back with a thud. He felt what ever it was land on his chest, allowing him to get a better look at him and he was pretty surprised to see what it was. Staring at him, was a pair of large teal eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Well would you look at that! Orvus's team of evil has finally been formed, Barren has had an unexpected visitor in his room and Cain's already been beaten up by women. But what exactly made Orvus hate Master Hand so much? What or who happens to be in Barren's room? Will Cain be able to get Alexis to like him? Probably not, but find out in the next chapter of: Super Smash Bros. Unlimited!<strong>


	6. Meeting your comrades Part 2

**The Silver Lion Returns!**

**In the last Chapter:**

**Barren has finally entered the mansion! There, he meets Meta-Knight, who seems interested in the chain around his neck But what really called our attention is the fact that Orvus already made his move. With an army of super villains by his side, can he be defeated? Or will the tournament fall into his arms? Find out now!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own a snow cone maker, Sonic Universe Issue 41#, a wooden mallet, a Porsche, Super Smash Bros. or anything else other than my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Meeting your comrades Part 2

* * *

><p>Barren stared at the large pair of teal eyes in front of him. However, to his surprise, they were't even human eyes. They were like large glowing light bulbs. He quickly smacked what ever it was off his face before getting back up on his feet. When Barren got a better look at it, he was shocked to see a small mechanical creature.<p>

"What the?" He said before the creature jumped back onto his face. "Get off of me!" While he attempted to rip it off of him he heard it giggle, but it was no human giggle. It sounded robotic, with a very small amount of auto tune. Hardly noticeable. but still present. When he finally succeeded he was shocked to see a what was in his hands. A small silver robot with a large grin on it's face. Before he could say anything, the robot kicked him in the eye, dropping him on the floor. "OW! Okay, what the hell are you?" The robot instantly got on it's feet, his eyes turning from a cyan color to a red one. He saluted to Barren.

"GIR, reporting for duty, sir!" It said with a deeper and more deadly sounding voice. Barren stared at him in confusion.

"GIR? What's a GIR?" He asked, causing the red parts of his body to revert back to the cyan color.

"I don't know." Silence quickly filled the entire room. However, it was short lived due to the fact GIR began to giggle uncontrollably. Barren picked up the giggling robot.

"What are you? Some kind of toy? Where did you come from anyway?" GIR poked Barren's eye again. "OW! Stop It!" He watched as the robot rolled around laughing on the floor. Where did the little guy come from? He had no clue until he looked to the side. The box that Crazy Hand gave him had a large hole in it. "I get it now." GIR immediately stopped laughing and looked at Barren. You were inside that box all along weren't you?" GIR said nothing. "So **your **my present? Not the best choice for a welcoming gift. Guess that hand lives up to it's name. I-" He was interrupted by GIR hopping on top of his head, the large grin on his face returning.

"Can I have a piggy back ride?" Before the young warrior could say anything, GIR poked him in the eye again and sat on his shoulder. "Let's go monkey man!" Barren sighed heavily. Now he had to survive a hyperactive robot. What could possibly make things worse?

"Excuse me." Barren turned around to see the same fighter who defeated the orange dragon, Jake. "I hate to interrupt, but your robot is drooling on my shoe."

I got the answer to my question.

* * *

><p>Cain and Alexis walked through the halls of the mansion before stopping in front of a red door.<p>

"Here you go." Cain said as he opened the door for Alexis. Her only reply was a thank you. After Alexis walked in, Cain was going to follow here, however he was stopped by Alexis herself.

"Um... Cain, I kinda need to talk to Master Hand in private, but thanks for bringing me here." She said before shutting the door in his face. Cain stared at the door before turning around with a smirk on his face.

"I Love it when they play hard to get."

* * *

><p>Black mist erupted from the center of the living room. As it began to increase, a figure appeared in the middle. That figure was none other than Orvus. And he did not look very happy, especially after seeing Nicky, sleeping on the sofa in front of him. His hand began to glow with his dark power, causing the shackles Nicky was wearing to glow. The young demon's eyes widened as he grabbed his stomach in pain. After about ten seconds, Orvus released his grip and Nicky's shackles stopped glowing. Nicky glared at Orvus.<p>

"What was that for!" He yelled only for Orvus to slap him in the face.

"Nicky what are you doing here? You were supposed to assist me and Litnor with acquainting my new subordinates." Orvus sounded a lot more sinister than usual.

"I know that. I got occupied with something." He received yet another slap from Orvus.

"Occupied with what exactly?"

"Well, after you guys left, I went to talk to Master Hand after I found out he had already given everyone their rooms, but then Crazy Hand somehow put me in a 100 man brawl and I had to win to get out (and I beat the high-score). Then when I talked to Master, there was an incredibly long line and I had to use about seven spells to make it shorter-"

"You did what?"

"Relax, all I did was throw a few sleeping spells, teleportation spells and the occasional near death experience-" Yet another slap."Geez, I'm just kidding. You have no sense of humor."

"Continue Nicky." Orvus threatened to slap him again.

"After that, Master told there was a problem. Apparently there was an error in the building's schematics and there was one room missing. This room was mine and, despite the fact he's the god of creation, he couldn't give me a new one so..." He took a little sign with his name on it and put it on the sofa. "**This** is my room." The dark god stared at him.

"Are you telling me that you have to sleep on this sofa for the rest of the tournament?"

"It's surprisingly comfortable." The god groaned heavily. "So how'd it go?"

"Much better than I planed. I thought fr sure one of them would disagree. Things change over the years." He glanced over to the side to a few interesting figure. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

* * *

><p>Barren walked through the halls of the mansion, GIR sitting on his shoulder and Jake right next to him. Jake glared at Barren from time-to-time, which he had noticed after a while. Despite this, the two stayed quiet, they didn't dare to speak to each other. What happened after we left them in the room? Who knows. After a while, GIR was very bored with the current situation, so he did something to spice things. He jumped onto Jake's head and started to jump up in down. Jake glared at the robot before looking back to Barren.<p>

"Get your filthy robot off of my head." Barren quickly tried grabbing him, but received yet another poke in the eye. Jake became rather annoyed with this and tried taking GIR off himself, only for the robot to bite his hand. He grabbed his hand in pain before GIR hopped off his head and onto the floor. "Can't you control that thing?"

"Don't blame me!" Barren protested. "I don't even know what he is! A robot, obviously, but I've never seen one like this"

"Well how do we get him to shut up?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." The two began to walk again. After a walking a few feet, Barren stopped suddenly. "Now that I think about it, I don't think we've been properly introduced." Jake stopped soon after. He watched Barren extend his hand. "I'm Barren. What your name?" Jake stared at his hand before saying his name.

"Jake. Jake Jackson." Jake might have told Barren his name, but he didn't shake his hand. In fact, he didn't even look at him when he said. This made Barren sigh sadly.

"Look buddy, I'm trying to be nice here. If we're gonna share a room the least we could do is try to be friends." Jake stared at him again before sighing heavily.

"Fine. But laying down a few rules." He took a list out his back pocket. One that made Barren's eyes widen. It was a very long list. "No annoying me with stupid questions; Keep your stuff off my bed; No eating in the room; No sitting on my bed; No sleeping on my bed;"

**10 minutes later**

"No animals in the room; No Jumping on either of our beds; Keep away from my things and finally: Don't touch my stuff." Barren, who actually payed attention to the incredibly long list, stared at him confused.

"Those last to rules are exactly the same."

"I know." Jake walked away, Barren and GIR right behind him. Though that's how it actually happened, Barren pictured something more like this:

**RESULT:**

**-SCORE: 1360  
>-TIME: 12'24"857<br>-PERFORMANCE: 0**

**-TIME BONUS: 1000  
>-PERFORMANCE BONUS: 0<strong>

**-TOTAL SCORE: 2360  
><strong>

**-RANK:_ D_**

"Damn." Barren said in his head. "Could have done much better than **that**."

* * *

><p><strong>Well Barren's made a new "friend"... Speaking of which, Barren just recently made an appearance in Epic Networks' fanfiction: Super Smash Bros. Universe. And I know I'm a bit late, butt I've had this... Kingdom Hearts obsession since my friend let me borrow Birth by Sleep... man that game's fun! I also had to make this chapter a bit shorter than I planed. In my future chapters, expect to see <span>a lot<span> of KH references. Next up, new chapter of Journey of the king of hearts!**

**Title: Weapon Specialists**

**Silvermane out!**


	7. Smashing Beginings

**Last time:**

**Barren meets GIR, a hyperactive small robot that came out of his present and Jake, a rather self-centered boy who happens to be his roommate. While the two tried to get to know each other, Orvus seems to e interested in a few figures he saw. Who are they? Let's find out know.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6:<strong>

Smashing Beginnings

* * *

><p>Marth was in the kitchen, looking through the cabinets hoping to get something to eat before Kirby showed up., unfortunately he was to late, as everything was empty. All he found was a pack of potato chips.<p>

"Well, it's better than nothing." He said before opening the bag. However, before he even put his hand inside, he felt something pat his back. He turned his head, but nothing was there. Confused, he looked back at his hands, but the chips weren't there anymore. He heard crunching behind him. Looking back, he saw someone. Someone who he wasn't very fond of. Tsuchi. The man who defeated the blue dragon, holding his chips. "Tsuchi? Is that you?"

"No, it's my ghost whose come to haunt you." He said sarcastically.

"Tsuchi, you always haunt me." He started to speak in a bit more hostile tone.

"Shut up." He said before lighting a cigar. "I thought I'd find at this place. Shiida said you were starting to like it here more than home. I can imagine." He put the cigar in his mouth. "A little princess like you probably like to go where you get the most pampering.

"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Tsuchi raised an eyebrow. "Look, if you came all this way just to insult then you can go-"

"I'm here for the tournament dumb ass." Marth stopped talking. "Do you think your the only one from the army whose got enough recognition to be here? Please, I could beat you easily." Marth grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Is that a challenge?" Tsuchi put his hand on one of his pistols.

"Maybe." The two glared at each other for what seemed like hours. Until someone interrupted the two.

"Are you to fighting already?" The two turned their heads to see the woman who defeated the purple dragon. "Geez, the tournament hasn't even started and your already at each others throats."

"Kaze?" Marth questioned. "Is there anyone else from our army that's coming here?" Kaze chuckled.

"Nice to see you to Ouji-sama." She replied. Tsuchi rolled his eyes.

"I don't see why you like it so much here. I haven't seen anything interesting yet and none of these people look like a challenge. Besides, I'd win even if they were." Marth ignored his comments and looked at Kaze. "So how have you guys been?" Kaze shrugged.

"Honestly, bored. It's been so boring since you left. We haven't had a single job either. So I figured this would be fun."

"Well, there's nothing boring about the Super Sma-"He was interrupted by loud crunching sounds. To be a bit more exact. Tsuchi. Glaring at the mercenary, Marth sighed and started to walk away. Kaze elbowed her brother before going after him. Marth was busy mumbling to himself. "Man that guy's annoying." He noticed Kaze trying to catch up with him. "How do you put up with him?"

"Beats me." She replied. Marth sighed heavily.

"Marth?" A lovely voice rang in his ears. He turned and saw someone very special to him.

"Shiida!" He yelled before running up to hug his loved one. Kaze glared a bit at the blue haired warrior, but quickly put a smile back on her face.

"Hello Shiida." She said. Shiida smiled before hugging her.

"Hello Kaze. It's been a while." As the trio began talking, Tsuchi only watched from a window in the kitchen. He would go over and say 'Hi' to Shiida, but as long as Marth was there... Eh... He didn't like that guy. For one thing, he dressed like a girl. Second, Tsuchi had a monstrous crush on Shiida. He despised Marth. Shiida should belong to him. He sighed before chomping another chip.

"Ah, love." Tsuchi quickly turned to see Orvus behind him, concentrating on shuffling the card in his hands. "It eats away at every fiber of your soul, telling you what you want..."He looked up from his card. "And what you can't have." Tsuchi raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, who are you? And what are you talking about?" He asked.

"Oh, heavens. How rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Orvus Creig." The card wielder stepped closer. "I know that look on your face." Tsuchi raised an eyebrow.

"What look?"

"I can tell your interesting in that blue haired girl. She does seem very special. But apparently, there's something in your way of stealing her heart, isn't there?" Tsuchi remained silent. "If you ever need any help, just come to my room. It's conveniently right next to yours." He said before walking away. Tsuchi just kept staring at him, until he felt deep breathing on his neck. He quickly turned around to see the man who defeated the white dragon. "Whoa! Personal space please!" The man shrugged.

"Sorry, but you were just standing there as if you were in some kind of trance." He said. "Seriously, you just sat there like you were a sandbag."He said before noticing the bag of chips in Tsuchi's hand. He grabbed a rather large amount and noticed the sandbag enter the living room. Tsuchi quickly left the area before that weirdo got anymore of his chips. He wondered if he would see Orvus again.

* * *

><p>Barren, Jake, GIR and Cain sat on one of the sofas in the living room. Cain was busy meditating and Barren and Jake were trying to survive GIR's annoying singing. After a few moments, Jake grabbed GIR by the leg and held him upside down.<p>

"Will you shut up! Do you not have an off button?" He yelled. Cain opened one of his eyes.

"Not so loud, I'm meditating." He said.

"But i'm just singing some songs!" The little bot said.

"And you have a terrible singing voice! I can't take another moment of your cursed singing... no, I can't take another minute of being near you!" He pointed an acussation finger at Barren. "Barren, you have to learn to control this little monster of yours!" Barren rolled his eyes.

"For the last time, I have no idea what his is! Do I look like a scientist to you?" Jake smacked Barren in the back of his head. "Ow! What is wrong with you? It 's not my fault he didn't come with a mute button." Barren took GIR from Jake's hands. "I actually think he's kind of cute." Cain opened his eyes again.

"Barren, you think everything smaller than you is cute." He said, but Barren only rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, do any of you know when this tournament starts?" Both of his friends looked at him.

"Didn't you read the invitation?" Jake asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Barren, the tournament starts today." Cain said. Barren only stared at them.

"Say what!?" He exclaimed before taking his invitation out of his pocket. Read over and over again. "It doesn't say anything about that!"

"Barren, turn it around." As commanded, Barren looked at the back of the invitation to find something written in very large print.

**P.P.S: The tournament will begin when you arrive at 5:00 PM. So you soon!**

Barren stared at the invitation.

"What the hell... How did I miss that!?" He said before starting to walk away. "Sheesh... I have to work on my observational skills..." While he was walking, he bumped into something, causing it and himself to fall on the floor. "Ow... like I said, I need to work on them." He looked forward to see someone on the floor. A very beautiful someone actually. It was the same girl that defeated the red dragon. She was wincing a little because of her fall, but she quickly looked up to see Barren, who quickly blushed before getting up and extending a hand to help her up. "Sorry about that." He said as he helped her get back on her feet. "I should have watched where I was going." The girl put I light smile on her face.

"That's okay." She said. "But I think you shouldn't blame yourself, I wasn't paying that much attention myself..." She kept on talking, but Barren wasn't listening. He just kept admiring every part of her. Not in a perverted manner, but he just couldn't keep his eyes off of her. When she noticed that, she blushed a little and snapped him back to reality.

"Huh? OH! Sorry! I zoned out there for a second... Anyway, my name's Barren. Yours?"

"My name's Haruhi Ryusaki and... Hey, wait a minute... aren't you-"

"Master Asia's grandchild Yep." He pointed at Cain. "That's my cousin Cain. The nervous kid is Jake and..." He stopped when he noticed someone was missing. That certain 'someone' was found after he gave Barren a kung fu kick to the head. Haruhi stared at the little robot on top of the fallen warrior. GIR mindlessly looked back at her. "And then there's GIR..."

"Again, Barren?" Jake said, walking up to the fallen boy. "That's the third time today. You should really learn how to tame that little beast." Barren glared at him.

"Stop calling him that. He may be eccentric, but he's not a beast." He turned his attention back to Haruhi. "So what brings you to the tournament?" Before Haruhi could answer, a loud voice boomed over the microphone.

**"ALL SMASHER, PLEASE REPORT TO THE TRANSPORTER ROOM FOR THE FIRST ROUND!"**

Barren couldn't believe what he was seeing. He quickly reached into his pocket and took out his cellphone: It was 4:50 PM.

"That was fast..." He said. Haruhi looked at the time as well.

"Well, we better get going." She said, the others nodding in agreement.

* * *

><p>Finding the transporter room wasn't very difficult. In the living room, there's a corridor a lot larger than the rest. As you walk through, you'll notice the red carpet and wall designs will be replaced with a cold, blue metal surface. Then you'll reach a large circular room with a humongous device in the middle. The smash symbol engraved on it. The four warrior thought they were dreaming when they first entered, minus GIR, who was actually asleep. And one by one, the smashers, new and old began to fill the room.<p>

It was a day unlike any other...

130 contestants competing to see who's best. I didn't matter if they were heroes or villains. All that mattered now was the fight. And in a flash of lighting, Master Hand appeared before them. He received much applause from some of the smashers. However, the transporter rooms true colors quickly appeared.

Hundreds...

No Thousands...

Millions of holographic screen appeared, each of the showed crowds, cheering everyone on. Naturally, everyone was awestruck. Even the veterans had never seen this before.

"Welcome." The hand greeted to the contestants. "First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for participating in this tournament. Even though some of you have completely different ideals, lives and even worlds, you all had one to in common. That something, you'll have to find out on you own. Second, I'd like to explain the rules of this tournament to the newcomers. Snapping his fingers, a larger screen appeared next to him. "The fights will be fought on a one-on-one basis in medium battle stages (When I say medium, imagine Congo Jungle size). There are three ways to win: your opponent lose conscious. him Concede and him fall off the edge of the stage. Items will be allowed, but at the lowest possible spawn rate. Anyone who interferes the match will receive an immediate disqualification and is only allowed to participate in stadium events. Understood?" All heads nodded, but in reality, Barren didn't understand anything. Items? Falling of the edge? Stadium events? What was this? "As for match times, ten matches will be held with a five day intermission in between. The contestants will be chosen at random, like so..." A large roulette appeared in front of him. Various mugshots of the contestants appeared on it. "Now, let's begin shall we?" The roulette began to spin faster and faster and every one was ready. This was it. The fourth smash tournament. Super Smash Bros. Unlimited! As the roulette slowed down. everyone tensed up. It finally reached a halt.

* * *

><p><strong>The tournament's about to kick off with a bang! who will be our first contestants! What other contestants are there anyway? Who will win? Who will lose? Will I even be able to finish this fanfic before I turn into an adult? Find out next time!<strong>


	8. Round 1 - Match 1

**Chapter 7:**

Round 1 - Match 1

* * *

><p>The roulette began to spin faster and faster and every one was ready. This was it. The fourth smash tournament. Super Smash Bros. Unlimited! As the roulette slowed down. everyone tensed up. It finally reached a halt.<p>

"The first match: Barren Rein VS Diddy Kong!" Master Hand exclaimed at the top of his 'lungs'. The millions of people being shown on the screens roared in excitement, as was Diddy Kong. Barren on the other hand didn't feel the same way. To be honest, he felt like he was about to faint. He barely understood the rules, he already met some pretty weird people and now he was in the very first round? This day just couldn't get any worse. Cain walked up to his cousin.

"You okay Barren? You're looking kind of pale." He asked. Barren shocked his head and told him he was fine, just a little surprised. After all, who wouldn't. Taking GIR off his shoulder, Barren handed the robotic weapon to Jake.

"Do you mind holding him for me?"

"Actually, I do." He replied, but Barren stuffed the robot in his hands before he could act.

"Will both competitors stand on the transporter." Master Hand called out. Barren walked towards the white circle at the center of the room, as did Diddy, but when Barren got a good look at him, he raised an eyebrow.

"Wait... I have to fight a monkey? Seriously?" Master Hand nodded. "That's just messed up. I don't want to hurt the little fella." He heard Diddy preform various monkey screeches, which he didn't understand a word. "I'm sorry, could you repeat tha-" He was interrupted by GIR jumping on his head.

"HIIIIIII!" He exclaimed. Barren yanked him of his head and glared at the bot.

"GIR! What are you doing!? I told Jake to-"

In a flash of light, they were gone.

* * *

><p>"...hold you for me." When Barren's eyes fluttered open, he wasn't in the transporter room anymore. Instead, he was... at Dream Lake. Diddy kong was in front of him. He looked a bit dizzy from the transporter. Barren heard cheers and roars from above him. There were giant floating stands in the air. The millions of people he saw on the screens was nothing to the amount of people who were actually there. There were billions! He had never seen so many people at once. He also noticed that the other smashers were scattered throughout the stands, each apparently sitting next to people they recognised. In fact, he saw Cain talking to his other cousin. She was a sixteen year old girl neck long hair. She had beautiful green eyes and was wear a traditional green japanese kimono. She had brown sandals and her skin was pretty pale. The kimono had had three dragons covering it. One blue, one yellow and one red. The blue one started at her right shoulder, curved dwn her back and went back up to her left shoulder, the red on went from her right arm to the right side of waist and the yellow one went from her left arm to the left side of her waist. "Himawari's here?"<p>

"Who dat?" GIR asked.

"My maternal cousin." Barren explained. "You see, Cain comes from my father's side of the family. She comes from my mother's. But what is she doing here?"

"Well, DUH! She came to watch you fight. She obviously knows what family means!" Barren stared at the robot.

"Since when did you start making se-"

"WAFFLES!" Barren's eardrums almost popped at the random statement.

"I stand corrected..." Barren looked around to see Diddy Kong, screeching to a certain crowd in the stands. Actually, this crowd was a bunch of apes. Funky Kung, Cranky Kong, Dixie Kong, Donkey Kong, and other simians as well "If I could only understand what they're saying..." In fact, Barren was paying so much attention to the, he diddn't notice GIR climbing up his shoulder. The little robot noticied something in his ear. Tapping it once, the screeches and monkey yells he heard were replaced with voices. Barren jumped back, shocked a bit. "What the heck?" He removed the device from his ear, causing the screaches to return. The deviced looked like some kind of earplug. "Must be some kind of translator... but where did it come from?"

"Who cares!" GIR said. "Maybe it's a gift. You know, from the guys who invited you here?"

"Are you making sense ag-"

"PEEEAAAANNNNUUUTTTTTTTSSSSSS !" GIR's scream was so loud, the entire stadium went silent and Barren knew he would have to get a hearing aid.

"Will you stop that!" Barren yelled at his robotic companion. As he yelled, two figures watched from with a floating room. Master Asia and Master Hand.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to give Barren that little devil?" The floating hand asked.

"Relax, GIR is much more than meets the eye." The kung fu warrior responded. "I'm sure the two will get along just fine." Master Hand 'shrugged' and drew his attention back to the stadium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" He bellowed, drawing everyone's attention. "Our first match will feature everyone's favorite little monkey Diddy Kong vs newcomer Barren Rein!" The entire crowd started to cheer. "Now let's find our where they shall battle." With those words, another giant roulette appeared on a screen floating in the sky. However, instead of fighters, it was hundreds of stages. It eventually stopped at a place called... "The Battlefield!" The crowds cheers were louder than ever. "An excellent place for the first match, wouldn't you agree Asia?"

"It's perfect." He replied bluntly. With those words, the floor Barren was standing began to morph before his very eyes. The small metal platform he was standing quickly transformed into a much larger plane floating in the air, with three platforms floating above it.

"Now lets begin!" Diddy Kong readied his peanut popgun, causing Barren's eyes to go wide.

"Hey, no fair! He has a gun!" He exclaimed, only for some wooden object to hit his head. To be more exact. it was a long wooden staff. The end of it was curled up into a ball and it was covered in a strange wind design. "The staff of the elements..." he whispered.

"Wat Dat!" GIR shouted in his ear.

**"3!" **Master Hand exclaimed.

Barren looked up to see his cousin smiling at him.

"Thanks Cain." He whispered. He took GIR from his shoulder and chucked him at Cain, who easily caught. "Take care of him."

**"2!" **Master Asia shouted.

Diddy was ready to pounce.

**"1!"** The entire stage roared.

**"GO!"**

The two competitors charged at each other. Barren swung his staff at Diddy, but he missed and the monkey took the opportunity to kick Barren in the stomach, sending him back a bit then proceeding to hit him various times with his tail. Barren grabbed it and gave make a kick to his left cheek, stopping his assault and allowing Barren to hit him with his staff. He then gave the simian another kick and before making a small orb of wind appear in his hand. "Kaze bureizu!" He yelled before slamming the ball into Diddy's chest. The monkey let a screech pain as he was sent flying back, Barren running after him.

"Well this is already turning out to be even better than I expected!" Master Hand shouted, causing the crowed to cheer once more.

Back to the fight, Diddy secured himself back on the ground and fired three shots of his peanut popgun at Barren. However, since the bullet were just peanuts, Barren smashed through them without any effort. "Hmph... Child's play." He said as his staff began to glow white. Diddy Kong tried to get out of the way, only to receive a punch in the stomach, a kick in the ribs and monstrous uppercut rivaling a Shoryuken, sending poor Diddy Kong flying. The monkey screamed in pain as he flew up and started to come back down. "If this is the best you have to offer, I'm gonna finish this with one strike!"

"As expected." The undefeated of the east proclaimed. "Barren's not going to let this battle go any further." The hand of creation look at him awkwardly.

"What do you mean? He's the fight's barely started."

"Ever since Barren first battle when he was a little boy, Barren has always made his battles as short as possible." Cain, sitting in the bleachers, nodded.

"Yep." He said. "The longest battle barren has ever had only lasted thirty seconds when he was four." He looked at a the timer being shown on the giant screen. it ha only been twenty six seconds. "I guess this is gonna take the record."

Barren held his staff like a baseball bat as Diddy came back down. "Sorry bud, hate to do this to you. Kaze sutairu, harikēn no kiba!" The staff made perfect contact with Diddy, sending him flying, the entire crowd watched as Diddy Kong was star KOed.

**"GAME SET!"** Master Hand called. The crowed roared in pleasure, as for the Kongs... well just say Cranky Kong was the only one happy considering the fact he and Donkey Kong bet three hundred bananas on who would win. Let's just say Donkey Kong wasn't on the winning side. **"THE WINNER IS: BARREN REIN!" **The cheers from the crowed ringed in Barren's ears. He didn't know if he should feel honored... or sad. He looked at the timer. Twenty nine seconds.

"Not this time." He said smirking.

"Barren has made to the next round! Now let's see who's next!" The roulette of fighters appeared once again. "And the contestants are..."

* * *

><p><strong>Winner: Barren<strong>

**Once Again, sorry for the terribly long hiatus for a short chapter. My life is full of things to do, Fanfiction is more of a hobby...**

**Oh well, back to JOTKOH!**


	9. Watch and Learn

**I'M BACK!**

**Silver Lion's alive and kicking. An this time, it's gonna stay that way. I'll be honest with all of you. The past year I went through was rough. I had practically lost my interest in writing. It wasn't until a...special friend of mine came through and helped me through my slump. But that's another story. The point is I'M BACK! For real this time.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8:<strong>

Watch and Learn

* * *

><p><strong>GAME SET!<strong>

And with a graceful landing, Meta Knight was received by a roar of applause by the audience. The armor-clad star warrior's match with Baby DK was the sixth match of the first round and while the match seemed a bit one-sided, Meta Knight had to admit that the baby monkey was quite a skilled fighter. But not skilled enough to beat him.

"What an exciting day it's been here folks!" Master Hand's booming voice yelled. "Six fighters have already managed to take their first step to becoming the ultimate smash brothers champion!" Master Asia sat calmly in his seat, but you could tell by the smile on his face that he was enjoying these fights as much as anyone.

Back at where Barren, Cain, GIR and Himawari were sitting, Barren and Himawari were catching up on a few things while GIR and Cain were watching the roulette start to spin again.

"So you really managed to master SEVEN different elemental attacks?!" The brunette asked her cousin, who could only smirk at her shocked expression.

"Come on Hima...it's not that big of a deal..."

"Not that big a deal?!" She yelled, grabbing her cousin's shoulders and shaking him violently. "It took me four YEARS to master ONE of those moves! How the hell did you manage to master SEVEN of them in NINE MONTHS?!" GIR giggled as he watched the older cousin practically strangle his new owner. Cain let out a chuckle before seeing Jake take a seat next to him.

"Sorry! Had to go to the bathroom. What did I miss?" He asked, prompting the perverted teen to shrug.

"Not much really...Meta Knight just won his fight and the roulette still hasn't stopped." He said as he watched the character select spin impatiently. He motioned to his cousins." And these two won't shut up." Jake stared at Himawari with interest.

"I didn't you had another cousin Cain."

"Technically, she's Barren's cousin, not mine. You see, Hima's actually a sorceress. When Grandpa found out about her innate magical abilities, he sent her to an old friend of his in Japan. But she still visits often." A sly grin made it's way onto Jake's face.

"And she's freakin' hot too! I wouldn't mind having her as my cousin!" Cain stared at him before letting out a chuckle.

"Sorry dude," He whispered in his ear. "but believe it or not, I hear she actually has a thing for Barre-OW!" The psychic yelped as Hima pulled his ear forcibly.

"Will you stop telling everyone about that disgusting rumor?!" She yelled in his ear. "Barren's my cousin AND one of my best friends, but I don't like him like that!" Even though he was in pain, Cain had a large grin on his face.

"Su~re you don't..." The brunette 'tsked' before letting the fighter's ear go.

"Calm down Hima." Barren said. "It's not the first time somebody's made that joke." The girl puffed out her cheeks in a cute pout.

"Yeah, but it still pisses me off..." Barren sweat dropped while the others laughed at the girls misfortune.

* * *

><p>"So tell me Litnor," Orvus said as he stood alongside his steward on a small floating platform above the bleachers, shuffling his cards while occasionally looking at the roulette. "Who do you suppose I'll have to fight in this tournament?" The masked demon said nothing as he stared at the roulette.<p>

"The hand is not stupid." He said, turning to his master. "He knows that you're too much of a threat, so he'll obviously get the roulette to pair you pair you up with one of the original fighter, such as Mario or Link." The card wielder smirked as he glanced at his companion.

"I taught you well Litnor...However, I don't think that will be the case..." Litnor shot him a perplexed look.

"Why not?" The fallen god looked up from his cards.

"I'm not berating you Litnor...In fact you made a marvelous observation..." He said, glancing at the now stopped roulette once more. "However, you're overlooking the possibility that he may be aware of our alliance with the villains." He pulled out a Red Joker from his deck. "He even called in the undefeated of the east...I believe he's going to try and thin my numbers in this tournament by putting the villains against themselves, thinning my chance of getting the shuffle key." Litnor looked at the card in his master's hand. Whenever he played that card, he was usually right.

"But couldn't you simply steal the key now?" Orvus let out a growl, one of the few things that actually frightened the masked demon. The card dealer took a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh.

"I THOUGHT I could...Unfortunately, this corporal body doesn't even have one percent of the power may old one did." He said, gesturing to his body. "Being in that hell weakened me...permanently...unless..."

"Unless what, my lord?" The card dealer sighed.

"Nothing Litnor...it's a complicated and migraine inducing process." Two flashes of a dark purple light caught their attention. The demons turned to see Vergil and Dracicle, each carrying a small staff. "I suppose your mission was success?" The half-demon scoffed, tossing his staff to the fallen god.

"Not entirely." He said as Orvus gave his staff. "We managed to retrieve two staffs. However, the other seven and the orb were recently transferred to an unknown location." The card dealer's expression fell.

"Not only that, the staffs we retrieved were the water and fire staffs." The red haired tyrant added. "While effective on their own, they possess a very bad synergy if not used wisely." Orvus put a hand on his chin.

"Hmm...that does complicate things...I suppose they'll have to do for now." Orvus held both staffs in his right hand and engulfed them both in a dark purple flame. After a few seconds, the flames completely burned the staffs and entered his body, causing the god to belch. "Energy absorbed."

"I never enjoyed watching you do that..." The masked warrior said, slightly disturbed.

"So what happens when you get all of these staffs anyway?" Dracicle asked as he watched Vergil silently teleport away.

"These staffs are considered the greatest elemental conduits of all time-"

"I know THAT. I've done my own research before."

"Good. Than it should be obvious why I want them all. While I may not be weak enough to fight, I need to guarantee my spot in the finals. The more power, the better."

* * *

><p><strong>GAME SET!<strong>

Orvus watched as Nicky sent Specter's Pipo Monkey flying out of the stadium, which at some point had turned into the Punch-Out boxing ring. The crowd cheered as the son of the devil himself commemorated his victory.

"Seven matches down, three to go."

"Now that was fun!" Nicky said as he stepped off the metal platform and onto the bleachers. "Beating the heck out of some weakling really makes my day." He said as he took out his teleportation card. "Time to meet up with the head honcho." Before he could tap it however...

"Hey dude! That was a pretty good match!" The demon turned his head to see Barren, staring at him with a smile.

"Um...thanks?" Barren gave a chuckle before tapping the empty seat next to him.

"Sit down. Don't be a loner." Nicky just looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

"Uh...no thank you."

"Trust me dude," A new voice called the demon's attention. Cain and the others were looking at him with the same smile as Barren. "once he starts, he won't stop."

"Look, I really don't have time. I gotta-"

"Just sit down already. We're all here for the same reason: To watch the tournament right." Nicky chuckled.

"Y-yeah, we are." Nicky said, while he thought something more like 'LIKE HELL WE AREN'T!'. "Alright, just for the next match." Barren's small crowd gave a cheer while Nicky took his seat next to Barren.

"What's your name?" Hima asked him.

"Nicky Lucifel." Hima and Cain felt their hearts stop for a second. The both turned to him slowly, completely pale and sweating heavily.

"L-lucifel..." Caind started.

"As in..." Hime gulped "Satin... Lucifel..." Nicky rolled his.

"Yep."

"The devil..."

"**That**...Satin Lucifel..."

"Yep."

3.

2.

1.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The two screamed as they jumped in each other' s arms. Jake fell back in shock of the scream and the revelation. Barren just sat there with his smile still present.

"So you're really the devil's son." Nicky nodded. Only making his smile grow wider. "That's so cool!"

"WHAT?!" His cousins shouts fell to deaf ears. Nicky and Jake stared at the boy surprised. The demon never met anyone who thought that being the son of the devil himself was 'cool'.

"It's really nice to meet you. I'm Barren. Barren Rein." He said extended his hand. Nicky was reluctant to accept.

"Nice to meet you to..." Barren...Where had he heard that name before.

"So Nicky, who do you think will compete next?" Jake asked him while the sixteen year olds still cowered in fear. Nicky put a hand on his chin while his eyes turned blue, startling his 'friends'.

"Wow! How'd you do that?" Barren asked, his eyes sparkling in amazement.

"Huh." The demon asked. "Oh, my eyes change depending on my mood or what I'm doing."

"COOL!" Rolling his eyes, the demon put his hand on his chin and thought a bit.

"Well it's kind of hard to guess right now. Fourteen guys have already fought, leaving a hundred and sixteen left. Plus that roulette been making some weird randomization..." The grouped raised a collective eyebrow. Even Cain and Hima stopped shaking and GIR looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" The bickering cousins asked.

"Think about. Until now: Who fought?"

...

That was a good point. It seemed that weak character were going up against strong ones and the villains were fighting each other. Barren v.s Diddy. Pretty even fight, no injustice there. Globox v.s. King Dedede. The blue dolt was terrified the moment he saw the hammer. Wolf v.s. Kritter. Seemed more like a death match, as if they needed to be in the tourney. Enerjak v.s. Spike. The kid managed to hold his ground pretty well against a demi-god, so the match was pretty even. Akuma v.s. Sentinel...that was just bloody massacre. Akuma kept beating up the bot even after he won. May it rest in the scrap heap forever...I don't even need to mention the last two.

"Weird eyes has a good point..." GIR said. The demon was about to open his mouth when his shackles started glowing. He fell off the seat and doubled over in pain.

"Whoa! Nicky you okay?" Barren said as he knelled down to Nicky's height. "What's going on?" The demon grunted as the light died down. Pretty soon, the red light engulfing his shackles were gone. "What happened?" Nicky ignored him as he got up and walked...scratch that, limped past the others.

"Sorry folks...gotta go."

"B-but the match didn't even start yet..." Barren pleas were ignored as the demon spawn left his sight. "What happened?" Hima had a hand on her chin.

"I think that was a spellbinding..." The group turned their attention to her. "Someone must have Nicky indebted to them, so they'll have the ability to inflict pain through something the wearer can't take off..." Jake grimaced.

"Yikes..." He muttered. He was never a fan of the supernatural. (In fact, he was still trying to find out why he was still hanging out with these wackos...eh, it was probably Hima's boobs.)

"Oh well..." Barren sat back down, a bit disappointed. That is until he looked up. "Uh...Jake?"

"What?"

"Look up." Obeying, the group turned to the roulette.

"THE NEXT MATCH:" Master announced. "Jake Jackson v.s. The Ice Climbers!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed! <strong>

**P.S. While I am back on SSBU, I'm afraid Jotkoh is still going to have a slight hiatus. Just until I can reorganize thing better. See you next time on:**

**SUPER SMASH BROS. UNLIMITED!**


	10. Rumble at the Meadows

**Chapter 9:**

Rumble at the Meadows

* * *

><p>"Jake Jackson vs. The Ice Climbers!"<p>

The blonde haired fencer stared at his image on the roulette before a smirk appeared on his face. He chuckled before standing up, dusting his lap.

"My turn already?" He said, eyes fixated on the roulette. "I didn't expect to be called so soon."

"At least you didn't have to fight in the first match…" Barren muttered, earning a laugh from his friends. "Not funny guys!...Wait a minute… This is a two-on-one match!" Jake looked back at the roulette. Barren was right. He was going against the Ice Climber**S**. Plural. Meaning Jake would have to fight both of them…

"Then I'll have to fight twice as hard then." The blonde said. Barren and Cain stared at him, wide eyed.

"What?! Jake, this fight isn't fair!" Cain said. Even GIR was staring at him as if he had grown a second head...hehe. The robot chuckled at the thought.

"Guys, calm down." The boys turned their attention too Himawari. "The Ice Climbers have fought in these tournaments before. I know how they make this an even fight." Barren cocked his head.

"How?" Hima pointed to the one in the blue parka.

"The blue one, Popo, is the one who's going to do all the fighting, while his sister," She pointed to the one in the pink parka. "is going to be an assist." All the boys cocked their heads now, causing the girl to sweat drop. "Popo is the one that you're actually going to fight, but Nana helps him preform certain moves, like the Hammer Spin and the Ice Cloud. She still does fight on her own, but if you take out Popo, they lose automatically." Jake shrugged as a metal platform hovered in front of him.

"And if she loses?" He asked.

"Match continues. Just focus on Popo and you'll be fine." The blonde nodded as he stepped onto the platform.

"Either way, I'll still have to watch out for both of them...Thanks for the advice Himawari." The sorceress smiled.

"No problem."

* * *

><p>"Alright! It's our turn! Come on Popo!" The male ice climber smiled at his sister's excitement. Ever since they got their invitation, Nana couldn't wait to participate in this tourney. And now the moment had finally arived. Sure Popo would be doing most of fighting, but she didn't care! This was probably one of the most exciting days of her life!<p>

Hold on...Something's not right...They seemed...older?

That's right! The Ice Climners were no longer the short, stubby kids we all know and love. The were much taller, about Pit's height, looking to be abou fifteen to fourteen years old...Now don't tell Popo I said, but if you take just one look at Nana, you could tell puberty was good to her.

"Calm down Nana!" Popo said as their metal platform came closer. "This isn't the first time we've fought in one of these tournaments."

"Well you can't blame the girl for being excited Popo." The blue ice climber snapped his head to where the voice came from. Sitting there was Ness, Lucas and Toon Link, who I will refer too as Toon in this story to avoid confusion.

Like the ice climbing pair, the trio had also grown up...well, Toon had gotten taller, but his face still retained his cartoony features. He just wouldn't be 'Toon Link' without them.

Obviously, Ness was the one who spoke. "Nana loves being a Smasher, even if she doesn't fight directly. The fact that you two got invited for this tourney must have left her ecsatic." Popo chuckled as he remembered Nana's reaction whe she read the letter.

"True. Too be honest, I never thought we'd be invited again. I thought we weren't good enough to be called again..."

"Are you kidding me?!" Toon proclaimed, startling his friends. "You and Nana were among the best fighters last time, and you're telling me you thought you guys weren't good enough?!" The ice climber scratched his cheek as he felt his face flare up.

"I didn't mean it like that Toon...I just thought Master Hand would want someone different..." The hero of winds and the two psychics shook their heads.

"Sorry Popo, b-but even I have t-to disagree to t-that." Lucas said. And if he had the guts to correct him, Popo knew this was one discussion he couldn't win.

"Hurry up Popo! The platform's here already!" The blue clad boy turned to his sister.

"Coming! Gotta go guys. Wish me luck!" And with that, Popo ran up to his sister and hopped onto the platform, taking out his mallet from seemingly nowhere. "Ready Nana?" He asked as his sister stepped on, twirling her mallet with every step.

"As ready as can be bro...as ready as can be."

* * *

><p>"Ow!"<p>

Was what a certain rebellious demon said when Orvus smacked him upside the head.

"Your late!" The card dealer spat as Nicky rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Care to explain why?"

"What good will that do? You'd hit me either wa-Ow!" Nicky tended too another sore spot on his head while Orvus scolded him. "Okay, fine! I got caught up with some guys who invited me to sit with them." Orvus lifted his hand to deliver another slap before comprehension of what Nicky said hit him like a Falcon Punch.

"Come again?" The god asked, sounding completely flabbergasted. Even Litnor turned away from the stadium to look at the devil's youngest son.

"Some kid named Barren invited me to sit with him and his group. At first I said 'no', but the his friends kept insisting so I sat down for a while until you set my insides on fire." He explained, emphasizing that last part by shacking his shackles. The fallen god put a hand on his chin.

"Barren?..." He asked.

"Yeah." The demon spawn pointed in the boy's direction. "That kid over there." Orvus turned his gaze to the black haired warrior, who was currently trying to pry GIR off of his head, with very little success. "Kid's kinda weird. First guy I've met who thinks being the devils son is, as he put it, 'cool'." The card dealer raised an eyebrow.

"That is peculiar...but he looks...familiar..." The card dealer saw the scroll around his neck and his eyes widened. "Litnor, analysis." The masked demon nodded as he Stared intently at the boy, his eyes glowing with a sickly green color.

* * *

><p>"Guys, do get the feeling you're being watched?"<p>

"Just ignore it Barren."

"Seriously guys! It feels like someone's staring into the bowels of my soul..."

* * *

><p>"His name is Barren Rein, a kung fu protege and grandson to the undefeated of the east. Fifteen years old. Personal interests include fishing, training, playing video games and...breaking the fourth wall..." The demons raised a collective eyebrow at that last one before Orvus turned to glare at the boy. And if looks could kill, Barren would've been massacred by now.<p>

* * *

><p>"Okay, now I think someone's trying to kill me with their glare..."<p>

"Give it a rest Barren."

* * *

><p>"So," He said, the white of his eyes slowly turning black. "He's Asia's grandson..." Nicky took a step back. Orvus was terrifying when he was angry. "Those he know anything about us?" Litnor's gaze never left the boy.<p>

* * *

><p>"C'MON GUYS I'M FREAKING OUT HERE!"<p>

"SHUT UP AND WATCH BARREN!"

* * *

><p>"No." The card dealer's eyes turned white again as he cast a confused glance at his steward. "He seems to have absolutely no idea of who we are." Orvus continued to stare at him before his lips contorted into a smirk.<p>

"Well then, I suppose I don't have anything to worry about." He said, removing his cloak and handing it to Nicky. "Asia's is too old to be a challenging opponent. And that hand has nowhere near enough power to defeat me." He tossed his hat aside as darkness enveloped his clothes. "As long as that brat doesn't know about me or the power hidden inside him, everything should go according to plan."

* * *

><p>Jake smiled as hopped off the platform and landed the soft green grass. The stadium had transformed itself into a luscious green pasture with a beautiful sunrise. He noticed a barn and a few animals, mainly cows, walking around the barnyard. But what was most notable about the stage was the dirt paved racetrack in the middle.<p>

"A Mario Kart stage. Interesting." The blonde thought as he took out a sabre from nowhere. "Would've been cooler if it was Rainbow Road, not Moo Moo Meadows..." The blonde shrugged as his opponent-er...opponents landed a few meters in front of him. Popo jumped off normally, but Nana tripped on the platform and landed on her face.

"Owchie..." She said as her brother rolled his eyes. He held his hand out, which she gladly excepted.

"Careful Nana. Don't want you to get out of commission before the match even starts." The pink ice climber looked up at her brother, her cheeks flaring up.

"Sorry Popo. Just got a little too excited." She replied, dusting herself off.

"Well stay focused. We're going against a newcomer so be prepared for anything." The girl nodded as she readied her hammer, mirroring Popo's fighting stance. Jake smirked as he unsheathed his_ sabre_.

"This should be interesting." Jake said as he entered his fighting stance. "I hope you two put up a good fight!" Popo nodded.

"Same here!" He replied. "But don't be too angry when we beat you!" A chuckled escaped the blonde's lips.

"Oh, we'll see who gets the last laugh..."

**THREE!**

**TWO!**

**ONE!**

**GO!**

"_En guarde!_" Jake exclaimed as he charged towards the duo. He swung his _sabre_, but the two jumped back and sent an ice cloud in his direction. The blonde narrowly managed dodge the attack, but Popo had ran up and hit him with mallet, sending him flying towards the barn.

"That all ya got buddy?" Popo taunted, shouldering his mallet. Jake growled as he used the barn's wall to regain his footing a hopped back onto the floor. Popo and Nana were there almost instantly, trying to hit Jake with their hammer spin. The blonde however ducked underneath the and countered with a slash from his _sabre_ and a barrage of lunges to Popo's stomach. The blonde jumped over him, and kicked the ice climber in the back of his head, sending him through the barn wall.

"I'm not your buddy, pal." Popo stood up and shook the debris from the wall off. Nana joined his side as he looked at Jake with an amused grin.

"You're pretty good! Jake, was it?" The blonde nodded, just as amused as Popo.

"You're not so bad yourselves." He re-positioned himself. "I'm glad my first match is against you two...though it a shame we couldn't meet under more civil circumstances." The blue ice climber shrugged. Unfortunately, none of them noticed the mischievous smile form on Nana's.

"Well than here's an idea." The boys turned to the girl, who met both their glances.

"What do you have in mind_ fleur_?" Jake asked as Nana smile grew.

"After this round, why don't we go to a diner, the three of us. Loser pays." Both of the boys smirked at the thought.

"I'm game sis. What about you Jake?"

"You wouldn't mind if a brought a few friends along?" He asked.

"Sure. But the bet's between us. They're paying for their lunches."

"Fair enough. Now," Jake readied his stance. "Shall we continue?" The ice climbers nodded before both parties charged at another. The twins swung their hammers, but Jake dodged quickly and kicked Nana away. Unfortunately he had no time to react when Popo hit him with an ice cloud, freezing him in place, and then hitting him with a hammer spin. The blonde grunted in pain as he was thrown back and hit by a downwards hammer swing, sending him to the ground. The blonde rolled out of the way of another descending mallet and tripped Popo off his feet. The blonde kicked him in the side, sending him flying towards the pasture.

"Popo!" His sister cried as she ran to his side. Popo stood up, only to be greeted by a smash attack from Jake's, sending the ice climber into the air. Jumped into the air and tried to send him flying, but Popo dodged the attack and countered with a hammer smash, sending the blonde towards the ground. Nana was already waiting there and shit hit Jake with another hammer swing, sending him flying towards the barn.

Jake growled. This was turning out to be a pretty even match. While he could easily pay anything the two would, failure wasn't an option. He entered this tournament with one goal: Too win. He regained his footing when he noticed the two charging towards him, preforming their hammer spin. He ducked under the attack, but Nana saw that coming and quickly froze him in place.

"Gotcha no~w." She taunted before the slammed their mallets onto him, sending the blonde hurdling through the air. Jake's ribs were starting to hurt from all the hammer swings. He shook off the pain and landed gracefully on his feet. If he had flown a little farther, he would've lost for sure!

The ice climbers charged once more, preforming the sane tactic again. Jake, however, wasn't stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice. When the two came by, Jake leapt over them, kicking Popo into the ground and footstool jumping off Nana's head. The blonde flipped through the air and landed behind the pink ice climber, tripping her while Popo got to his feet. The blonde preformed various lunges towards the boy and finished with an upward slash sending him through the air. As he came back down, the fencer concentrated on what he hoped would be his last attack.

"Here goes everything..." He whispered as the distance between them closed. Popo tried to hit him with a downwards swing, but Jake did an upwards lunge, hitting the climber in the stomach. He gasped for air before he was sent flying out of stadium, his scream becoming inaudible as he disappeared into a little star.

**GAME SET!**

"Popo!" Nana cried as she saw her brother get flung out of the stadium. She held back tears as her brother left her sight...she had been so excited for this tournament...and they already lost on round 1? She put removed her hood and a few tears escaped her eyes as the crowd continued cheering for Jake. She was so sad, she failed to Jake offering a hand to get her up.

"Hey." He said, getting her attention. "Don't be like that...we can't always win." The girl looked down at the dirt paved floor.

"But we made it so far last time...I was hoping we'd at least make it the semi-finals..." Jake frowned before taking a flower from the pasture and putting it in her hair.

"Well_ fleur_, it's not that simple. We can't always succeed in what we want...but that doesn't mean this is a complete loss." Nana looked up at him, confused. "Did you have fun?" The girl nodded. "You may not be in the tournament anymore, but you can still have that fun again at anytime. Aren't you forgetting this is the bros.? Battles happen at regular basis even when the tournament isn't going on. That and you two have more time to get stronger for a rematch." He held out his hand. "So stop crying. You lost the fight, but your adventure doesn't end here." Nana, looked at his hand, then back at him. A smile crept onto her face.

"You sure know what to say to a girl." She said, cheeks rosy. The crowd let out a collective 'aww!' as Jake helped Nana up.

"It is my gift." He said as he hopped onto the platform that had arrived during his little speach. "And I believe you and your brother owe me dinner." Nana chuckled as the platform took Jake away.

"That was an incredible battle!" Master Hand yelled from his seat. "Wouldn't you agree Asia?" The kung fu master nodded, a smile on his face.

"Of course it was. This is what these battles are about. Not winning, that's only part of the enjoyment. No, it's the fun you have participating and the sportsmanship that counts. This match proved it."

"Couldn't have said it better myself!"

Nana watched as her brother respawned in front of her. He seemed upset, but just one look at his sisters face put him in a good mood.

"Now spin the roulette! Let's see who will move on to the next round!"


	11. A Dark Omen

**Chapter 10:**

A Dark Omen

* * *

><p><strong>GAME SET!<strong>

Bass blew the smoke that came out of his cannon as King K. Rool plummeted into the cool waters of Delfino Plaza. The black robot smirked as the crowd cheered him on. The king of the crocs wasn't as strong as he anticipated. Despite his size and somewhat menacing demeanor, King K. Rool was clumsier than Bowser. A few punches and a charged shot sent the obese croc flying to a much needed bath. The robot watched as Kritter wept for his 'fallen' king, making him scoff.

"Pathetic." He thought as he scanned the crowd. Eyes occasionally stopping at a fighter. "All the people here just a bunch of weaklings. None of them are actually worth my time." The golden finned robot glanced up, soft blue eyes meeting his piercing red ones. "Except for one of course..."

* * *

><p>Megaman continued to stare back at the black robot. The two had fought many times in the past and in each fight, both seemed to get stronger and stronger. Now, Megaman, or Rock, if you prefer, had fought many robot masters...But none like Bass. The black robot had turned on Wily countless times, but his goal always remained the same. The blue bomber hadn't the slightest clue why he tried and tried again, hoping to finally defeat him. What was it that drives him so? Was the title of 'the strongest' really that important to him?<p>

"Rock, are you okay?" The blue bomber turned to his sister, her eyes filled with worry.

"Don't worry about it Roll." He said with a smile on his face. "I'm just thinking. That's all." Roll kept looking at him. The started to sweat under the robot girl's gaze. No matter how hard he tried, his sister always managed to read him like a book.

"It's about Bass, isn't it?"

Silence.

The blonde sighed. Of course it was. When Master Hand announced that Bass was going to fight, Rock looked like he was gonna short-circuit. She had heard her brother talk about the golden finned robot many times and she had watched them duke it out hundreds of times...

"Rock, calm down..." She said, putting a reassuring hand on his arm. A sad smile graced his lips.

"I am calm...It's just...I'm just so tired of this." Roll looked at the blue bomber quizzically. "Why is Bass so set on beating me? Ever since we met, all he talks about is defeating me to become the strongest...He's gone against his own creator, several times I might add, just because **he **wants to be the one to due me in." Rock sighed as he watched Bass float away on his platform. "I just want it to end..."

Roll couldn't help but feel sorry for her brother. Bass was...a very strange case. He held respect for humans, like them, but still sided with the guy who want's to take over the world. Was it his programming? No way. Bass's betrayals were proof that full-time loyalty wasn't built into him. Even though he helped Wily, the black robot did things for his own agenda...

To destroy Megaman...

And take the title of the strongest...

Isn't that what this tournament is all about? To become the ultimate smasher?

Heh...Irony's a pain.

* * *

><p>"My lord," Litnor said as he followed his master's gaze. "why those that robot intrigue you so?" Orvus watched Bass with interest. Their was something about that robot...the way he fought was cold, merciless...Apparently not ALL the villains were sided alongside him.<p>

"I'm thinking he could make an excellent candidate for our alliance Litnor...Did you not watch his fight? He reminds me of myself when I started fighting..." Litnor could of swore he saw a ghost of a smile on the card dealer's face. Unfortunately, it quickly faded as he turned his attention to his cards.

"My lord, you're not thinking about...**her** again. Are you?"

...

Litnor felt a cold sweat form on the back of his neck. He gulped when he felt the icy cold kiss of shadows. Orvus glared at him, darkness and shadows lashing out of his body and enveloping him in a small hurricane of darkness. Litnor could feel those midnight purple eyes glaring into his soul. Eyes that sent even the most powerful demon running back to Hell. However, it died down as the card dealer growled.

"I thought I told you not to mention her..."

"M-my apologies my lord...I didn't mean to-" Orvus hushed him.

"Forget it. But now my suit's ruined." He said looking down at his now tattered clothes. Even his hat showed some wear n' tear. "I'm going to need a new one. Go to my quarters and fetch me my spare." The masked demon nodded before disappearing into a flash of darkness.

Orvus sighed. Litnor was one of the few demon's he respected, but he could still do things that irritated him. He placed his hand in his back pocket and took out an old photo...

"It's been years...Is there still hope Ariel?..."

* * *

><p>Ike, the leader of the Greil Mercenaries watched the roulette begin to spin as he sat on his seat. Ike looked a bit different than he did in the last tournament, now deciding to wear his "Hero" clothes for this tourney. The hero of blue flames subconsciously gripped the hilt of Ragnell as the characters continued to spin. Ike had been wanting to battle all day! And he had to admit, he was starting to get antsy.<p>

"Come on...Please be me..." He said, his grip tightening.

"I didn't think you were one to get antsy Ike." The mercenary jumped when he heard that soft voice next to him. Standing there was a familiar hyrulian princess. The mercenary smiled.

"Zelda. It's nice to see you again." The hylian smiled as she took a seat next too him.

"The pleasure's is all mine...You look different than last year." She said, noticing the mercenary's change of wardrobe. Ike chuckled as he tugged at his clothes.

"This? Oh, just thought I'd come a bit more ready for battle this time." He said, earning a chuckle from the princess. "Where's Link?"

The princess pointed up. A few seats above them, Link and Pit were both chatting ecstatically about the next tournament... well, Pit was at least. Link, being the man of few words he is, listened carefully to the flightless angel.

"Pit stole him from me." She replied, earning a laugh from the mercenary.

"Can't really blame the kid. Link was practically his first friend when Brawl started." Both of them smiled as they remembered how Pit was when they first met.

You see, Pit was very shy when he first joined the Smashers. He was amazing on the battlefield, but people noticed he was very self reserved. Even more than Lucas. It wasn't until Link er...**talked** to him that he started becoming more like the goofy and happy Pit we all know and love.

You see, Link was the silent type. He only spoke when necessary and that wasn't often, so Link only responded to anything the angel said very few times. However, it was Link's silence that seemed to break the ice.

Unlike the others that tried before him, Link listened more to what the angel had to say. Sure, at first it was difficult, seeing that Pit didn't talk much at first too, only usually saying 'Hi' to the twilight hero, but Link treated him like a friend. He would help him whenever he needed something, helped him train many times, but it wasn't until a certain run-in with a gerudo king that their friendship was set in stone.

Unfortunately, that is a tale for another day.

"It still amazes how much he changed..." Ike said, smiling at the angel. Zelda nodded. Link truly was capable of very incredible things. However, the princess' expression turned solemn, which did not go unnoticed by Ike and someone else sitting behind her. The mercenary sighed.

"Something big's gonna happen, isn't it." The hyrulian princess sighed. Ike was good at reading her.

"I felt a disturbance even before I was invited to this tourney..." She said, looking down at the Triforce of Wisdom on her hand. "And it keeps getting stronger..."

"Ganondorf?" Zelda shook her head.

"No...Something even worse..." Ike's eyes widened. Ganondorf was probably the most vile competitor in these tournaments...How could anything be worse than him? "I had a dream before I came here...A man cloaked in darkness rose with an army by his side. Standing in his way was another cloaked in light, with an army of his own. The dark one's shadow lashed out an took two of the light one's men. He consumed one...and turned the other into one of his own. The light one saw this and his light burned brighter than ever... he jumped towards him and then...that's it." Ike stared at her.

"THAT'S IT?!" He said, making the princess jump. "YOUR DREAM ENDS **THERE**?!" The hyrulian nodded, dropping her head in shame.

"I"ve consulted it's meaning with the wisest sages of my kingdom, but so far..." Ike sighed.

"No avail..." He finished for her. "How many people have you told?" She glanced at Link, then back at Ike.

"Only Link and you. Though I'm afraid I'll have to consider speaking with Master Hand about it." The mercenary nodded.

"Excuse me," A voice behind them said. They turned to see Tsuchi, twirling one if his guns in his hand. "but if you're talking about that surge of power that happened all of a sudden, I'd be more careful if I were you." Ike looked at him strangely.

"Surge of power...?" He said, causing the gunslinger to roll his eyes.

"Yes." The princess said, startling him. "I just recently felt a strong surge of darkness nearby. However, I did not know someone else felt it as well." She said, eyeing the gunslinger suspiciously.

"I have a friend back in Altea who's a mage." He said bluntly. "I must've picked some stuff up with him." Zelda wasn't convinced, but she let it slide.

"Altea? Isn't that the place Marth's from?" Ike asked. The hooded mercenary chuckled.

"Oh, so you know that douche of a prince too?" He asked, earning a bit of a glare from the two. "Yeah, I know him. I'm mercenary who's been a part of his army for a while. Can't say I'm really fond of him, but he pays well." He took lit a cigarette as he spoke. "The name's Tsuchi. Ring any bells?" The princess put a hand on her chin.

"Now that I think about, I do recall Marth mentioning that name once..." She said. Tsuchi blew out a puff of smoke as he glanced at the altean king from afar.

"Meh...Probably saying shit about me." The two raised an eyebrow.

"You have issues with Marth, don't you?" Ike asked, earning a chuckle from the Altean mercenary.

"You have no idea.. and what about you two? What are your names?"

"I'm Ike."

"My name is Zelda. It's a...pleasure meeting you." The mercenary chuckled before blowing out another puff of smoke.

"No need to be so polite. I was never fond of formalities." He said, looking back at the prince, Caeda (or Shiida as she has been called throughout the story) and Kaze. "I still don't see what's the big deal about this tournament...It seems fun and all, but it's kinda ridiculous..." The veterans smiled, which did not go unnoticed by the gunslinger. "What?"

"Should we tell him?"

"I don't see why not."

"Huh?" Was all Tsuchi said. Ike smirked as he leaned on his Ragnell like a cane.

"Tsuchi, do you know why we fight in these tournaments?" The mercenary shook his head, causing Ike's smirk to grow. "It's because we love fighting together, but some of us are too proud to admit it."

"Say what now?" Tsuchi said. Zelda glared at the hero of blue flames, before turning to the confused mercenary.

"It's not like that...At least, not so literaly." She scanned the audience, her eye occasionally stopping at a contestant. "When Master Hand first created this tournament, he summoned some of the greatest warriors to battle each other for one reason..."

"Too prove who was the strongest..." Tsuchi finished, earning a smile from the princess.

"Correct."

* * *

><p>"However, while the main goal of the tournament was to simply find out who was the strongest, it ended up becoming much more."<p>

Kaze and Caeda both listened to the altean king tell his tale.

"What do you mean Ouji-sama?" Kaze asked. The king smiled at the both if them.

"It's hard too explain..."

"Come on Marth." Caeda said as she leaned closer to him. "It couldn't possibly be that difficult too explain. Can you at least try?" The prince winced as both Caeda and Kaze gave him the most adorable puppy-dog face ever seen. He bit his lower lip before sighing.

"Fine. It's like this. The first smash tournament was different than this one. I don't know all the detail, seeing that I wasn't there, but I know enough to explain it to you guys." The two nodded. "During the first tourney, the smashers only encountered each other when they fought. There wasn't a mansion or anything like that. They would live their lives normally until they'd be randomly telleported to a fight." Kaze tilted her head.

"So they didn't know when they'd fight?" She asked. The king nodded.

"Nor did they know who they were gonna fight." Marth looked up at Master Hand, who was patiently waiting for the roulette to stop. "Captain Falcon told me that Master was a bit...sadistic at the time." He turned to his two comrades, both giving him a weird look. "It wasn't until Master decided to kick things up a notch that things started to change."

"What happened?" Caeda asked.

"Master Hand put the original smashers in a world he crafted, one that combined the most dangerous parts of all their worlds. Their goal was simple: work together to reach him and then fight him." Marth paused. "I don't know the details...but to summarize, the smashers didn't get along very well at first. Samus was a loner and no one understood Pikachu, Kirby, Donkey Kong or Jigglypuff because the translator wasn't invented yet. Mario and Luigi were the only two who understood Yoshi and the green Mario Bro. was afraid of everyone. The only ones who actually tried to work together were Mario, Captain Falcon, Fox, Ness and Link."

"Jeez...Was it really that bad?" Kaze asked, prompting the king to shrugged.

"From what I've heard...**worse**." His two friends winced. It was a pretty bad thing to imagine.

"What happened next?" Marth opened his mouth to talk when a _*click* _interrupted him. All eyes turned to the roulette, which had finaly stopped spinning.

If there was one word to describe how Master Hand felt, it would probably be **"horrified"**.

On one side, Falco Lombardi, but on the other...

_"H-how?" _The hand thought as he trembled. What kind of omen was this?

The final match of the day was set.

Falco Lombardi v.s. Orvus Creig.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey everyone! Been awhile since I've written one of these. Just wanting to give you guys a few heads-ups<strong>

**1. I've been noticing a lack of reviews since I started posting again. I'm not one to complain about something like that, but it's been starting to bug me for a while. I'm not gonna turn into one of those guys who only makes the next chapter if he gets a certain amount of reviews, but it would be a bit of a motivational booster. So R&R please!**

**2. I've started a poll on my account. You see, after this story and Jotkoh, I plan to write a spin-off. But I'm having trouble deciding what it should be about. I know I should focus on my current stories for now, but I just wanted to see what you guys would like! So please vote, but just know that the top voted option might NOT be the first one written. It depends on how my story progresses, but the order is pretty much decided with the votes.**

**3. I'm pleased to announce that Jotkoh is now out of hiatus! I'm beginning to write the next chapter as we speak, so it should be out by next month. That and another project I'm working on :)**

**See you next time!**

**Silver Lion is out!**


	12. Teeming Darkness

**Chapter 11**

**Teeming Darkness**

* * *

><p>"So~...this is how it feels like to be on the Final Destination..." Orvus muttered as he stood on...well, the Final Destination. "I always did wonder how it feel to be the fighter and not the spectator..." The demon shrugged. "Oh well. I won't stay here for long." He straightened his new hat.<p>

After his little er..."episode" a while ago, Litnor went to grab the card dealer a new suit. One that was a bit more...colorful. It helped make him look less suspicious to the public, yes, but it was still a bit too childish for him. Gone was his pitch black suit and cloak. Instead, Orvus wore a violet suit with.s bright red bow tie. His hat was now a similar shade of violet, but it seemed to have a bluish shade in it. In his opinion, he looked like a circus clown...

A small price to pay really.

"If it means I get to watch the hand burn, a little public humiliation means nothing to me." He said, watching his opponent land on the stage.

Falco himself was basking in the lime light. The crowd cheered as he gracefully leapt off the platform, preformed a few mid air tricks, and majestically landed on the stage, earning him a loud roar if applause.

Though not everyone seemed to enjoy his theatrics. Most notably Fox, who simply rolled his eyes at the display. They did crazier stunts like that almost every day! It was nothing to get too worked up about...Unfortunately his team mate Slippy wasn't as self controlled as he was...

Falco laughed as he watched his leader scold the toad, only to get scolded himself by Crystal. This kind of stuff was normal to him, especially if you're living with the Super Smash Bros. Falco continued his waving just to get a few more cheers. It was the last match of the day. He just had to put on a show.

Orvus raised an eyebrow. This was his opponent? Please...this would be over quicker than he thought.

"Here we are folks! The final match of the day!" Master's voice boomed through the cheering crowd. "Newcomer Orvus Creig and veteran fighter Falco Lombardi are sure to have an...interesting battle..."

"More like a slaughter..." Asia muttered, which did not go unheard by his god-like companion. "Can't you do anything?" If Master had a head, he would've shaken it.

"If I do now people will get suspicious." He whispered back. "I thought we had match ups like this under control..."

"I've already sent a few alloys to look into it." Asia replied. "Though I think we should've expected it...Litnor does have that "special" ability of his..." The two shuddered. The masked demons "special" ability was terrifying...

"True..." Master Hand sighed. "I just hope the blessing can even defend against the one who placed it..."

* * *

><p>You know those moments when you're scared and you feel that nasty little chill climb up your spine? When you feel like something big is about to happen, but you don't know what it is?<p>

Well, certain members in the crowd felt that way right now.

Zelda had noticed a slight shift in Master Hand's mood...even if it was subtle. The princess could feel a rise in tension, even if most of the crowd was oblivious...The sheer presence of the man with a top hat seemed to make Master tense up and she could understand why.

So could Marth. The man radiated some kind of dark authority. The way he walked around the stage was also starting to bug the altean prince. He only glanced around, barely paying attention to the crowd...and yet he looked so confident.

Jake wasn't sure how he reached this conclusion. The card dealer wasn't smiling or anything. Heck, he looked pretty bored actually. But when he looked at Falco, he gave a light chuckle, almost as if he was asking himself "This is it?".

That tiny action was enough to infuriate Fox. Who does this guy think he is? Some kind of god? As if! This guy was going to regret underestimating his partner/best friend...

But part of Kaze was still a bit weary of him. He wouldn't act like that without a reason. And from what she's heard about the Smash Bros., Falco was no pushover, so he'd need a very good reason...

Tsuchi shrugged the thought off. Whatever reason this guy had, it probably didn't matter. He may thinks he's the strongest, but underestimating your opponent is the first step to a major defeat...Hey, didn't he meet that guy before? The gunner shook his head. That could be answered later. Right now, he just wanted to watch the fight...

But even though the stadium cheered in Falco's favor, Himawari couldn't help but wonder if the card dealer was just being overconfident...or if he knew what he was doing.

And everyone feared the later.

* * *

><p>"Well, not who I expected to be my first opponent this year, that's for sure." Falco said as he walked around the Final Destination. Orvus copied him, always being on the opposite end as they trailed along the stages edges. "But hey! I'm not complaining. A fight's a fight and that's good enough for me!" Falco never left his stance down as he walked. He's been waiting for this for way too long.<p>

Orvus raised an eyebrow. He was not amused. "Pitiful." He stated.

Falco stopped. "Huh?" He watched Orvus shuffle through his cards.

Stopping at one card in particular, the demon continued. "I was hoping to get decent smasher, if you know what I mean..."

Falco growled. "What?!"

"You heard me pigeon." He smirk, taking examining the card in his hand. "Do you really believe you have even a sliver of a chance against me?"

That one little line provoked in uproar in the crowd. Though what really got everyone on edge was how smug he looked saying it. His normal expression returned soon after, but he still seemed so damn confident...and very pleased with Falco's enraged expression.

"Oh, you are so going to get it..." Falco said, readying himself. "I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face!" Falco wanted to charge and beat him to a bloody pulp, but Master had yet to start the match.

"Oh please..." Orvus said. The card wielder raised his hand. The entire stadium fell silent as he pointed into the sky.

"...One hit is all I need..."

If story had visuals, you'd probably be able to see Master and Asia fall apart like broken glass.

Everyone in stadium was either surprised, outraged, or had their jaws hanging wide open from the demon's bold proclamation. He had to be joking, right?

Even Falco saw some humor in it.

The arena booed Orvus, who still remained there with an unreadable expression. Some laughed at him and others were telling Falco to kick his purple heiney.

It took a lot of willpower for Orvus not to lash out and kill the idiot who insulted his suit. It may be childish, but a suit is still a suit!

"You're joking, right?" Falco asked between laughs. He wiped a tear from his eye and straightened himself."You got a lot of guts to say something like that. Especially in a Smash Bros. tournament." The pilot readied himself. "Let's see if you can back that little claim of yours up!"

While everyone cheered for the falcon, Master was currently banging his er..."head" on the table. Asia was patting him, doing his best to comfort him.

"He's doomed..." Master muttered. "Oh so horribly doomed..." The martial artist gave him a cheesy smile and faked a cough.

"Forgive the um..." He spoke into the microphone. As much as he wanted to prolong the wait as long as possible, the show must go on. "...delay. Let's get this started, shall we?"

The crowd roared in agreement. The Falco was more than happy to start so he could beat this guy to a pulp!

As for Orvus...

He sighed, putting all his attention into shuffling his cards. He didn't even bother looking up at Falco, which only served to infuriate him even further.

**"3!"**

"This should be entertaining...not." Orvus thought, still shuffling his cards.

**"2!"**

"Oh he is so dead!" Falco screamed in his head. This guy was about to be history once he was finished with him. Falco shut his eyes. The second the match started, he was gonna make him pay!

**"1!"**

Just one more second...

**"GO!"**

Falco's eyes shot open. He dashed towards his opponent at full speed while Orvus...still kept shuffling his cards, not even bothering to look up at the impending threat charging towards him.

"Whenever you're ready...I'll let you have the first strike..."

Falco growled. Was this guy really that confident? Falco wasn't the strongest smasher, he recognized that, but he could still hold his own in a fight. And now this guy was treating him like nothing!

Falco sped up. He jumped into the air and kicked the unsuspecting Orvus in the stomach...

...only to phase right through him.

Falco stumbled as he slides to a halt. Had Orvus disappeared? Falco turned around only to see the card wielder standing there, still shuffling his cards and he had black smoke coming out of where Falco hit him.

"What?" Falco muttered as his opponents stomach rematerialized. Orvus was still too busy to even notice his confused expression.

"I said whenever you're ready." The man said, still shuffling his cards.

Falco growled. So that's how he was gonna play, huh? Fine then.

The Arwing pilot charged at the card dealer, dashing towards him at full speed using his Falco Phantasm. He aimed a kick towards the mans head, who simply ducked underneath it. Falco kept at it with a barrage of kicks and punches, but Orvus seemed to dodge every strike. Falco roared in irritation, trying to land a punch in his face, but again, Orvus's body had reduced itself to smoke. The card dealer himself reappeared again several feet away, yawning.

"This is getting boring..." He said, examining one of his cards. Falco tried shooting him with his blaster, but the attacks went right through him and did nothing to phase him.

"Stop running away and fight me!" Falco yelled.

"Oh Heavens no!" Orvus whined, taking out another card. "While your combat skills are to minimalistic to provide a decent battle, I must say it is quite entertaining seeing you get so worked up."

That tiny stick that was Falco's cool just broke in half.

Not even waiting for another smart remark, Falco appeared in front of the card dealer instantly. Orvus's eyes widened, before jumping back, just barely avoiding an overhead kick. Unfortunately for him it didn't end there. Falco recovered quickly and dashed towards him using Falco Phantasm, once again catching Orvus by surprise, and landed one swift kick to the card wielders stomach, followed up by a barrage of punches. He stopped abruptly, quickly charging up a forward smash that hit Orvus before he could react, sending him flying towards the edge of the stage.

Orvus could hear the crowd cheer Falco on as he slipped his feet back onto the floor, slowing down his flight to a stop. He was still pretty far from the ledge, but that didn't matter...

He smirked. "Impressive..." He patted his clothes, wiping of any dust that might've gotten on them. "Apparently you seem to get stronger the more I agitate you...I never expected you to land a hit." Falco cracked his neck.

"Yeah, well there's a lot more where that came from! Come on! I can do this all day!" He exclaimed, readying himself for another attack. Orvus chuckled at the scene.

"That won't be necessary..." He said. Falco, and most likely the rest of the crowd gave him a confused glance. He stopped shuffling his cards, stopping at one card in particular. He took it out of his deck, admiring it as he held it between his fingers. "One hit is all I need..." The card engulfed itself in dark purple flames, as did the rest of Orvus's hand.

* * *

><p>Zelda's eyes shot open when she saw the flames on his hand. Her tensing up did not go unnoticed by the two men beside her.<p>

"Zelda?" Ike asked, concern in his voice. "What's wrong?" The hyrulian princess said nothing as she kept staring at Orvus flame. He body paled and trembled in horror.

"T-that darkness..." She whispered, earning confused glances from Ike and Tsuchi... "I-it feels just like..." Before either could question it, Zelda clutched her head in pain, shrieking as she felt something burn through her skull.

"Zelda!" Ike yelled, catching her as she fell over, still yelling. "Zelda, what's happening?!" She continued to scream for a while before she stopped. Ike, concerned, looked at her, only to see she was unconscious. "W-what was that?" The mercenary looked over at Tsuchi, only to see that he wasn't paying attention to her...

No. Tsuchi could only stare at Orvus's flame and wonder what it was about it that made Zelda faint like that.

It wasn't like that little power lash. That was barely noticeable. Heck, he was pretty sure the only two who did notice it were him and Zelda...

But this? That tiny flame felt like hell...or worse...

* * *

><p>"...Are you three okay?" Jake asked as he eyed his three friends. He placed GIR in his lap so the robot wouldn't disturb the three in their...condition.<p>

All three of them started trembling, Barren the most. They all looked spooked all of a sudden, just as that character in the top hat summoned that flame.

"D-define okay?" Cain managed to say as he trembled more than a naked man in Antarctica. "B-b-because I-I'm not quite s-sure right now..."

"Do y-y-you guys f-feel that?" Barren asked, looking for said to side, almost as if he was searching for something.

"Feel...what exactly?" Jake asked.

"Yeah! What's up?" GIR asked. Even with his happy-go-lucky programming, he could tell something was wrong.

"T-that dark power all of a s-sudden..." Hima said barely in a whisper. "H-how did you not sense it?" Jake raised an eyebrow, before glancing back at Orvus...

Did...did he have anything to do with it?

* * *

><p>In Skyworld, the goddess of light Palutena was watching the tournament with great interest. She enjoyed watching these bouts ever since Pit was invited last year. She loved the whole prospect of the tourney...and she loved what it had done to her precious little angel. So when he was invited again, she was ecstatic! She couldn't wait for this tourney to win.<p>

However, her excitement soon turned into confusion as soon as she saw Orvus stand onto the stadium. He looked...familiar to her somehow. Not physically, but there was some kind of air around him and...and his eyes...there was something very familiar about him.

She wondered what it possibly could've been...That is, until she saw Orvus's hand catch on fire.

She felt the surge from all the way in Skyworld. A darkness that made her stumble a little when she first felt it. She recognized that darkness all to well...

"Oh no..." She whispered, her face painted with horror. That couldn't be...It just...

Well, it did give a more decent explanation as to why Thor and Master Asia going to be commentators in the tourney, but still!

She sighed. The feeling of dread still lingered in the air.

"I guess...the time has come..."

* * *

><p>"So you're finally going on the offensive, huh?" Falco smirked before charging towards him. "Okay! Show me what you got!" Orvus rolled his eyes.<p>

"As you wish..." He whispered, putting one foot behind him. "Can't say I didn't warn you..." Falco jumped towards him, readying a kick to his face...

Only for Orvus to slam his burning hand into his stomach.

Time seemed to stop for a moment. The only audible sound that was heard was the sound of Falco wheezing as the wind was knocked out of him. Orvus smirked as he moved closer to Falco's ear.

"One. Hit." He whispered, malice dripping in his voice. "Is all that I need..." Falco stared confused until he felt a Orvus hand burn brighter. It didn't just burn like a normal fire. Falco could smell the stench of darkness rise up as Orvus charged whatever it was he was doing. "Black...Pulse..."

What came next felt like Hell. Imagine being stung by fifty highly venomous scorpions along with being trampled by a steam locomotive. Then imagine being stabbed through the heart with a rusty knife that's being twisted inside your body and then you get trampled by another locomotive.

Yep. That's what Falco felt right now.

A large pillar of darkness burst out of his hand, almost like some dark and mystical version of Samus's Zero Laser. Falco screamed in pain as the attack blasted him away, all the way off of the stage.

**"GAME SET!"**

It took a good ten seconds for everyone to realize what just happened. And another ten seconds for the crowd to start cheering again.

"That was awesome!" A voice from the audience yelled.

"He actually managed to pull it off!" Another one added. This one sounded female.

"Wow! I didn't expect anyone to be this good! Heck, out of all the contestants so far, I think he just might be the most likely to win!" A third voice said.

"You got that right dude!" The first replied back.

Master Hand wanted to die now. He _really_ wanted to die right was to paralyzed from what just happened. Thankfully Falco respawned normally, albeit Falco wasn't _standing_ on the revival platform. He was laying down on his back, a trails of saliva hanging from his mouth and spiral were where his eyes once were.

Both him and Master Asia sighed in relief. The blessing held up after all. What happened to Falco could've been worse..._Much_ worse...

"Orvus Creig has" Master gulped. "made it to the next round!" The might've just been paranoid, but he could've sworn he saw Orvus smirk. "After that very..._exciting_ match, it's time to end today's matches."

The stadium let out a collective groan.

"But don't worry!" Master Hand said reassuringly. "We'll be back before you know it! So tune in next time to watch the continuation of Super Smash Bros. Unlimited." The crowd lightened up after that and began to cheer again...However, no one seemed to notice Master Hand's nervousness.

"He's getting stronger." Asia said. The hand remained quiet as he stared at the card dealer, leaving the arena. "I'm afraid we will have to prepare him sooner than we expected..."

"...Did you feel it?" Master asked. The white haired fighter was confused for a moment before nodding. "He let his power out...and it wasn't even a fraction of his original strength. Yet he still managed to beat an opponent in one blow..." He gave Orvus one final glance. _"Just how much power do you have Orvus?"_

* * *

><p>Barren whistled as he watched a few fighting alloys carry Falco's unconscious body off the revival platform and drag him somewhere. "Wow. That guy did quite a number on that bird..."<p>

"Indeed." Jake agreed. "He talks a big game and has the skills to back it up. It's hard finding a fighter like that."

"Well yeah but..." Barren trailed of before shuddering. "I don't know...I'm getting a really bad vibe from him..."

"I think we all do Barren." Hima said, earning a nod from Cain and Jake. "That disturbance we felt when he started up that attack was no coincidence." Jake raised an eyebrow.

"Disturbance?" He asked, quickly remembering their little trembling incident. "What exactly did you feel?" Cain sighed.

"It's hard to explain dude..." He started. "You see, Grandpa trained us to sense certain kinds of aura. When that guy used that attack, his aura felt..."

"Evil? Diabolical? Satanic even?!" Jake asked, leaning towards the group of cousins. They all stared at each other before turning back to him.

"No." They all answered, much to the fencer's confusion. "It was really cold." Jake face faulted.

"Cold?!" He yelled, sitting back up. "You were shivering like that because it was cold?!" The three nodded. "Are you kidding me?!"

"W-well it's...complicated." Hima admitted sheepishly. "Our aura reading is pretty simplistic...We can only read the aura of certain attacks and we can't tell exact details about it either. All we can tell is if it's hot or cold."

"What difference does it make?"

"Well hot auras are usually righteous, filled with the power of light and belong to good natured people. Cold auras on the other hand are vile, ruthless and demented attacks that usually belong to villains." Cain explained, before giving Orvus a weary glance. "The thing is...we've never seen a guy with an aura as cold as his..."

Jake glanced at the card dealer before glancing back at his group. The fencer could only wonder if they were being paranoid...or if there was a lot more to him than meets the eye.

"Well, no point in worrying about it now." Barren said, getting up from his seat. "Come on guys. Let's go to the mansion." The boys nodded, getting up as well. The ruby eyed warrior took two steps before stopping. And it wasn't because GIR jumped on his head and started chewing on his Mohawk. "Uh, guys?" The group looked at him. "The stadium is just a bunch of floating platforms that teleports us to where ever the match is gonna be, right?" The trio nodded. "...How do we get down?"

"For those of you wondering how to exit the arena," Master Hand's voice boomed over the intercom. "There's a teleporter the top right corner of the platforms. They've been programmed to send you back to the transport station that brought you here. Thank you."

"Well, that answers that." Cain stated. "But what's a transport station?"

"Oh, that's how I got here." Hima explained. "They're these special terminals throughout the city that can send you wherever you want, as long as it's nearby. Some of them were rented for the tournament to teleport spectators to the tournament grounds."

"Eh. Makes sense." Jakes said. "I guess that means we'll be sent back to the transporter inside the mansion."

"And I'll be sent to the public one right across the street." Hima said. "Looks like I'll be headed to the hotel a bit early today..." Barren put a hand in his chin.

"Hey guys, do you think Master Hand lets visitors in the mansion?" He asked, earning confused glances from the group. Even GIR stopped chewing on his "snack" to stare.

"Uh...Maybe." Jake said. "Why is that?"

"Well I was wondering if he'd let Himawari in every once in a while." Barren stated, surprising the young sorceress.

"Huh?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Oh come on Himawari..." Barren whined. "We haven't seen each other for over a year! It wouldn't hurt to know if you can come over and hang out every once and a while."

"B-Barren, I don't know if I..." Hima trailed off as soon as he saw Barren's pout. He looked so adorable! She hated/loved it when he did that! After about ten seconds, she caved. "...Ugh~ Fine..."

"Yay!" Barren cheered before pulling Hima into a very tight hug. "I still have to see with Master if it's okay! But either way, thanks Hima!"

"Y-you're welcome..." She wheezed. "B-but can you let me go now...need...air..."

"What was that?" Barren asked, completely oblivious to the fact he was depriving his cousin from getting any oxygen. Cain laughed at the scene while Jake just chuckled...

Although, the fencer the could've sworn he saw a light blush on Himawari's face...

Eh. He was probably imagining it.

"Okay Barren, let the girl breathe." Jake said. Barren's eyes shot open in realization.

"Oops." He whispered. Poor Hima's face was already blue and was already starting to turn purple. He quickly let her go, and the girl quickly breathed in as much oxygen she could. "Hehe...Sorry..."

"It's *pant* okay..." She wheezed, still quite out of breathe.

"Let's go already!" Barren's little robotic companion chimed in. Judging by his expression, GIR had gotten bored of his snack and was more than happy to go home. "I'm bo~red!" Barren chuckled.

"GIR's right..." He said.

"That's a first..." Jake muttered, earning a glare from Barren.

"...Ignoring that last comment...Come on. Lets get back to the mansion."

* * *

><p>To say Ray was bored was an understatement.<p>

Having been one of the first to exit the stadium and return to the mansion, the half-chimera quickly left the transporter room before the rest of the contestant filled the place up. And he did not want to be there when the place was crowded.

"If that was the case, why'd you even accept the invitation?" He asked himself. It was rather confusing that he _willingly_ chose to come live with probably the most bizarre group of people in the world!

Or was it the universe?

Multiverse?

He shook his head, his ears flailing a bit at the gesture. **That** was a subject for another day.

What mattered now was a simple question...What now?

The next few matches were only going to start in **three** days. So what were that going to do until then? Goof around in the mansion? Please. He had enough of that at home! (His friend Laura would kill him if she ever heard him say that...) I mean, he heard that the smashers would stay at the mansion and that they usually had various...misadventures, to put it lightly...

The young man sighed in frustration. He **really** should've expected this...Why the bloody heck did he sign up for this?! He growled, about to continue his internal discussion...

Until he heard a hiss, a crunch and felt an absurdly large amount if pain coming from the snake he called his tail.

Ray yelled his breath, holding in a yell. The weight of what ever it was flattened the poor snake tail like a stem roller. With a fluid motion, he swiped his tail from underneath whatever it was that pained him. Said thing jumped back. She covered her mouth with one if her hands, staring wide eyed at the half-chimera, who glared back with burning ferocity.

"Watch where you're going genius!" Ray growled, holding his tail and tending to the part she stepped on. The teal haired girl stared at him worriedly.

"Oh my God...I-I'm so sorry!" She started, reaching to inspect his tail for any injury, only for Ray to brush her off. "I-it was an accident! I swear!" Ray said nothing as he dropped his tail back on the floor and marched off down the hall, mumbling something under his breath. "Wha- Hey! Wait up!"

Oh jo~y! Already someone shows up to piss him off!

Ray accelerated his pace, but the teal haired girl managed to catch up with him. "What?" He spat, making her gulp.

"L-look, I'm really sorry for stepping on your tail..." She started, here eyes darting to the snake tail. "I-I didn't notice it when I came in-"

"Didn't notice?" Ray asked incredulously. "My wings and tail are easier to see than lantern in a dark room. Got any other excuses kid?"

"I-I...I just wasn't paying attention!" Ray rolled his eyes at the rather poor defense. "Look, we're getting off at a really really bad start..." She jogged in front of him, stopping him. She held out a hand. "My name's Amy. Amy Yukine. What's yours?" Ray stared at her for a second before hesitantly grabbing her hand.

"...Ray."

"It's nice to meet you Ray!" Amy said, smiling brightly. However it faltered slightly as she let his hand go. "I'm really sorry for stepping on your...tail..." Ray glanced at his tail and then back at her.

"Eh...I guess I kinda overreacted. Its not the first time this has happened to me." He said before walking past her.

"H-hey! Where are you going?" Amy asked, running up next to him.

"Going back to my room to get some shut eye before my roommate shows up."

"But its still 6:00 PM!" She declared.

"I'll wake up in an hour or two." He defended, ignoring her attempts to slow him down.

"Come o~n!" Amy whined, hopping in front if him, making him stop again. "There are plenty of things to do here! You can't sleep yet!"

"Like what exactly?"

"Well," She took out a list from her back pocket...a very _long_ list. "there are all of the multi-man battles, target test, the home run stadium, the theater room, the bathhouse-"

"We have a bathhouse?" Ray asked, a bit surprised. Well, maybe "surprised" is too strong a word. More like "perplexed".

"Hey I didn't design the place! I just live in it! Now what else...Oh! There are the training room, the living room, arcade and the-"

"You do realize I stopped caring, right?" Ray yelled. During Amy's little countdown, Ray had already taken off. Amy squealed when she saw the half-chimera already far away from her.

"Hey!" She yelled. "Stop doing that!" Ray sighed as she ran up to him again. "Oh come on! You have to admit they at least sound more interesting than falling asleep!"

"True. But falling asleep is less headache inducing." He took two steps forward...

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." A voice said, getting Ray and Amy's attention. Sure enough, Lucario stood there, leaning on the wall. His eyes were closed shut as he was in deep thought. Opening one eye, he saw Ray's confused expression. Even though he didn't actually speak per se, the two heard what he said thanks to his psychic ability. "Getting any sleep here during the day is nearly impossible. Even Kirby has difficulties trying to do so." Ray rolled his eyes.

"If I can manage to sleep living in a house with twenty three of the most annoying people I know, I think I can handle sleeping here."

"Can you?"

A small moment of silence.

"...Ugh~...No..." Ray growled. Before anyone could say anything however, a blur of white and blue came running towards. Realizing a collision was imminent, the blur yelled and skid to halt...before tripping on Ray's tail and landing on his face, effectively crushing Ray's tail under his weight.

"Son of a-" Ray's eye twitched as a sharp pain came from his tail. He let out a growl before swiping his tail from underneath the newcomer, flipping him onto his back.

"Ow~..." The young man said, his eyes being replaced with spirals for a moment. Amy and Lucario circled around him as Ray tended to his injured tail.

"Why is it always the ta~il?" He whined to himself, comedic tears rolling down his face. "Why not the wings for once? They don't do anything anyway!"

Amy and Lucario stared at the newcomer curiously. His eyes still swirling with little chibi heads of Spiderman, Iron Man and Thor flying over his head. The two sweat dropped at the scene.

"Uh...Are you okay?" Amy asked.

The man's vision began to clear up as an audible moan escaped his throat. While still blurry, he made out the faint outline of two people standing over him. His eyes shut and opened themselves up again multiple times before he could get a clear view.

"Ow~..." He moaned. Lucario held out a hand to help him up, which he gladly accepted. He clumsily made his way onto his feet. "Thanks..."

"Are you okay?" Amy asked.

"Oh, _su~re!_ Worry about the guy who flattened my tail like a pancake!"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just took a bump to the head. Nothing to serious." The man said, rubbing said head injury. "I'm Marc by the way."

"I'm Amy." She smiled grabbing his hand and shaking it. "It's nice to meet you!"

"A~nd they're ignoring me...Figures..." Ray muttered before storming up to the three. "Hey!" He yelled. Marc recognized the half-chimera (Technically he recognized his tail which he used as a cushion, but you get the point.) and jumped back a bit in shock.

"Oh! Uh...Sorry about landing on your tail dude." He said. Ray grumbled under his breathe before sighing.

"Not the first time someone's crushed it...Shorty over here already beat you to it." The chimera muttered, ignoring Amy's protest at being called "Shorty". She was not that short! "Now that that"s out of the way, I'm going..." Rau trailed off when he noticed something. Marc kept staring at him. More specifically, he kept staring at his wings.

"..."

"Er...Is there a problem?"

"Are you cosplaying someone?" Marc asked. Ray's eyes twitched as he heard Amy snicker and a light chuckle from Lucario.

"Uh...No." Ray affirmed. He gestured to his wings and tail. "I've had these things for awhile now. I guess you could say I'm a half-chimera."

"Oh. Cool." Marc said with a smile. "Sorry for the dumb question..."

"Trust me. I've heard dumber." Ray recalled certain...experiences with people back home...Yeah. Not all that pleasant. Marc, not realizing he was being serious, laughed.

"Well, that makes me feel better." He said. "Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to know where the Marvel superheroes went, do you." The three shook their head, making Marc's smile fade. "Aw man...I've been looking for them all day! Where are they?"

"Have you tried the living room yet?" Lucario asked. "That's where most of us go when we're not fighting or spending time in the bathhouse."

"Again," Ray started. "Why do we even _have_ a bathhouse?"

"To bathe, obviously."

"Don't play cute." Ray growled, earning a laugh from the other three. "Ugh...You know what? I'm going to the training room!" He said, stomping down the hall. After two steps, he stopped. "Unless, of course, some kind of sick deity that finds my misfortune funny decides against it that is! If so, strike me down from where I stand!"

"Make way!" A trio of voices yelled. Before the chimera had time to react, GIR leapt forward and and kicked him to the ground before taking off. Then Barren and Cain came running after him, accidentally stepping on Ray's tail as they barreled passed him.

"GIR! Get back here!" Barren shouted, dodging a bolt that was thrown at him by GIR. "And will you knock that off?!"

"Where is he even getting these things anyway?" Cain asked. Barren shrugged. He was about to respond when a bolt hit him in the forehead.

"Okay! That's it! You're dead GIR!" Barren roared as he and Cain chased the eccentric bot down the hall. And completely ignoring the whimpering half-chimera a few feet away from them.

Ray bit his tongue to prevent an outburst. Instead of a yell, an oddly loud cat like whimper escaped his throat as he held onto to his tail.

_"__**I didn't mean it!**__"_ He internally shouted from his place on the floor. He tried getting up, but stopped when he heard another pair of footsteps running towards him. Brown boots filled his vision before he looked up.

Jake held out a hand to help Ray up. "Sorry about that." He spoke as Ray obliged. "GIR had a strange freak out from the transport and he started calling himself "The Cabbage King" and he thinks he's actually a cabbage for Planet X-2097, who are slowly plotting to conquer the world one grocery store at a time. Then he started throwing bolts he got from who-knows-where at Barren and Cain stating that 'human tyranny is over and the cabbages shall prevail!' Then he took off prompting Barren and Cain to go after him." It took ten to fifteen seconds for Ray to understand what he said.

"_What_?" Was all that came out of Ray's mouth.

"Yeah~, that was my reaction too..." Jake replied. Ray muttered something under his breath before dusting his clothes.

"Well thanks for helping me up..." Ray started, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'm-"

"And who might this lovely lady be?" Ray heard Jake's voice say. The chimera blinked twice, only to realize Jake was no longer there. Instead, Jake was a with Amy, Marc and Lucario...Well, to be a bit more specific, Jake was on one knee, holding Amy's hand and smiling up at her. Said girl quirked an eyebrow at the strange gesture.

"Uh..." Amy fumbled to find any words to say. "I'm Amy." Jake's smile grew.

"Amy, eh? Such a pretty name..." Jake said before placing a kiss on the back of her hand. Amy laughed and leaned over to Marc.

"He's funny!" She whispered, showing absolutely no signs of knowing Jake was hitting on her. Marc quirked an eyebrow, his deadpanned expression screaming "REALLY?!" Marc shook his head and turned to Jake.

"It's nice to meet you." He said as Jake picked himself up.

"Like wise." The fencer replied, not really paying attention to him.

"They're ignoring me again. _Joy_." Ray muttered. This day was starting to get confusing. "Can't I have a normal day for once." Jake heard him talking to himself and turned to him.

"From what I've seen so far, I'm pretty sure its impossible to have one of those here." He said, earning a groan from the chimera.

"Oh for God's-" Ray stopped himself short. "Why did I even come here?!" He snapped, though not really directed to anyone. Jake watched in amusement as he started rambling. "First I get bored as heck with nothing to do! Then this teal haired girl steps on my tail-"

"-Hey! I said sorry!" Amy said.

Ignoring her apology, Ray continued. "-and starts annoying the living crap out of me! Then that comic fanatic steps on my tail and accuses me of being a cosplayer!"

"It's not my fault you look like one..." Marc muttered. "And stop talking about us like that. We're right behind you!"

"And then those two morons coming rushing up pushing to the ground and stepping on my tail again!"

"I actually expected Barren to do something like that." Jake replied. He had his chin in between the space between his thumb and index finger, forming a classic "thinker" pose. "Though I didn't expect the culprit to be a psychotic robot apparently driven on a cabbage based alien conspiracy theory..."

"What's next?!" Ray shouted, throwing his arms in the air. "A **meteorite** just randomly falls on top of me?!"

Everything was quiet for about three seconds.

Then a meteorite about the size of a car crashed through the roof and landed on Ray, crushing not only his tail, but the rest of his lower body as well.

"_**OH COME O~N**_!" He wailed as tried to crawl his way out from underneath the space rock, unsuccessfully of course. "What did I do to deserve-" His rant was cut short when part of the meteor chipped off and landed on his head, leaving a rather large hole in the rock base and an even larger bump on Ray's head.

To everyone's surprise, something started crawling out of the hole. Three something's actually. Three leafy things. Cabbages. Each holding a small ray gun with their non existent hands.

"Glurg!" One of the cabbages growled. It was green, like a normal cabbage.

For the sake of keeping this story moving forward, I shall translate for you all:

_"Theodore, are you sure this is the right place?" _The darker cabbage growled. A small...dark blue cabbage came up to him.

_"Absolutely Sargent!"_ The small cabbage saluted. His voice much more childish than his. The dark green cabbage chuckled maniacally.

_"Muwahahaha! Yes!" _ It exclaimed. _"The Smash Mansion is home to the greatest warriors and defender of all time! Here we can learn all of planet Pekopon's defenses and secrets to prepare for the invasion!"_

_"Shouldn't we wait for the rest of the platoon though?" _The third cabbage said. Unlike the other two, he was dark red. "_You heard what happened to the Keronians when they tried invading this place. The Armpit Platoon got stuck having to serve a family of Pekoponians in their house!" _The smallest one shivered.

_"I hear they're still living there..." _It muttered. The Sargent scoffed.

_"Nonsense!" _It exclaimed. _"The Keronians are weak! It's no wonder they could never conquer this planet! But __**us**__-" _He gestured to him and his platoon. _"The cabbages of Planet X-2097 , are for superior to frogs if Keron my friends! SARGENT KORORO!" _It exclaimed, jumping into the air.

_"PRIVATE FIRST CLASS TOMUMU!" _The dark blue one yelled as well. The red one stared at his companion before sighing...and then jumped into the air as well.

_"CORPORAL GORURU!" _The three landed, each preforming a small pose, with Kororo in the middle and his two pals at his sides.

_"WE ARE...__**THE NOSTRIL PLATOON**__!" _A swirl of color appeared behind them, reminiscent of early Power Rangers shows...Then they noticed Jake, Amy, Lucario and Marc staring at them and Ray struggling to get out from underneath the rock.

_"Aw lettuce! We've been discovered!" _Kororo shouted in horror. _"Quick! They must not know about our plans! To the attic! They'll never look for us there!"_

_"Aye Aye Sir!" _The blue one saluted. The red one gave what seemed to be a nod before the three took off down the halls.

All the while, the group just stared, dumbfounded.

"Well," Marc started. "that just happened..."

"Aye...It did." Jake agreed.

"CAN SOME ON GET THIS _**DAMN**_ THING OFF OF ME?!" Ray bellowed as he continued to struggle from underneath the meteor. "AND HURRY UP! I THINK MY BLOOD STOPPED CIRCULATING IN MY LOWER BODY! MY LEGS ARE GONNA BE ASLEEP FOR HOURS!

"Should we help him?" Marc asked, pointing at Ray, who glared un response.

"Oh! I had forgotten about him." Jake admitted. Ray muttered something explicit under his breath as the group walked up towards the meteorite.

"Just hurry up and get it off!" The chimera yelled as he continued struggling.

"Alright, calm down." Lucario assured him. He and the group circled around the space rock and put their hands underneath. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"

The three of them heaved the rock just high enough for Ray to no linger be crushed. The chimera sighed in relief...Unfortunately, fate was a cruel mistress.

"Ooo! A penny!" Amy said when she noticed the one cent coin under the meteorite. She crouched down to get it, but when she let go, the meteor dropped to the floor again, not only crushing Ray, but Lucario, Marc and Jake too.

With a chorus of "Ow"s and "Oof"s, the four boys groggily laid down as the meteor crushed them like flapjacks. Amy gasped, putting a hand over her mouth and taking two steps back.

"Oops..." She whispered. Ray was the first to regain his senses. Lucario and Jake soon after.

"Great!" The chimera spat. "Now we're all stuck here!"

Jake squirmed under the weight of the meteorite. "Couldn't we- Ow!-try to pick it up from underneath?

"We can barely move our arms Jake." Lucario spoke calmly, though he wasn't exactly fond of his current predicament. "The meteorite has literally rendered us immobile. I'd use Psychic but I can't move something this big with it."

"Well that's just _dandy_!" Ray yelled before hearing a groggy moan next to him. Marc was still out with chibi superheroes around his head again.

"D-don't panic!" Amy yelled. Though from her reaction, she should probably practice what she preaches. "I-I'll run and get help! I'll be here before you know it!" She took off in a random direction, tripping over herself and knocking over a vase as she ran out of Ray's sight.

They were all quiet for a what felt like an hour.

"...She's not coming back in the near future, is she?" Lucario asked.

"Nope." Jake and Ray responded. The three groaned in disappointment.

"Well now what do we do?" Ray asked.

"...We could talk about our place in the universe?" Lucario suggested.

"We could talk about girls?" Jake suggested.

"...Comics..." Marc moaned, his eyes still swirling. Ray groaned before burying his head into the floor. If the rest of the non-tournament days were gonna be like this...Well, only one thought crossed his mind.

_"This is gonna be a __**long**__ three days..."_

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, here we are! We've finally reached the part of the story I wanted to do the most! The three day in between match intermissions!<strong>

**First off, an explanation for my delay in posting this. No, I did not become Mr. Year long hiatus again. I was actually writing lots of thing at once. But once I saw how long it was taking, I went back to writing one thing at a time. Hence why this chapter may seem a bit rushed.**

**However, as I have stated various times, I have not given up on this story. In fact, the next few chapters are gonna be more important to me than my Jotkoh ones.**

**You see the next three chapters will each represent one of the three days. These chapters are basically gonna be the humor aspect to the story. The fun and zany misadventures the smashers go through along with plot and character development. You know, like those "life in the mansion" fics.**

**There's only one problem however...I'm a bit scarce on ideas. I have one or two ready, but I really wanted to make something much more diverse. Simply put, I'm asking for ideas. Feel free to send me one if you'd like to contribute to this story.**

**Well, that's everything! See you next time!**


	13. Typical Day? A Smasher's Modern Strife!

The soft "tick tock" sound of an alarm clock echoed throughout the room. Jake and Barren's roomed as the two lied down peacefully, GIR laying on a spare pillow on the floor that Barren had found before he went to bed. Jake was more than willing to get some rest after getting flattened by a meteorite earlier (much to the newcomer's surprise, no permanent damage had been done.) The first thing Jake did when he arrived was kick off his shoes and plop onto the bed. He'd take a shower in the morning. He was just way too tired.

Laying on the top bunk of the bunk bed, Jake quickly fell into a deep sleep, though it proved to be a bit difficult with the combination of Barren and GIR's snoring. Nonetheless, Jake managed to reach the land of dreams and had a goodnight's sleep...

That is, until Barren started turning in his sleep.

It started at about 4:00 AM. Barren's constant moving made quite the racket, waking Jake from his pleasant women filled and motherless dream. At first he thought he'd snap out of it quickly. It was just a nightmare after all. But after two hours of nonstop moving and slight whimpering, Jake could tell this had to be one heck of a nightmare.

When Barren finally did calm down, Jake had time to contemplate things. Barren was... awkward. He seemed somewhat oblivious to certain things in life, yet he seemed so knowledgeable in others. He could read aura, he proved himself to be a decent fighter, and he tried so hard to start a friendship with him...

...Was he Barren's friend? The two had hung out all the yesterday with his family... But "friend" wouldn't exactly be the word to describe him.

An acquaintance? No. He was more than that. But he was certainly less than a brother. No, Barren was... a comrade. Someone who'd never leave your side no matter what. Someone who'd dive head first to rescue you from whatever it is that tormented you... The way he was so open about meeting new people, even after knowing who or what they are...

No. Barren deserved his own category. He was Barren. Nothing more, nothing less. A great person to be around, albeit he has more than an occasional hiccup every now and then.

Jake never had many friends when he was a kid. Most of his "friends" were only around him because of his wealth. But even he could deduce what category Barren would fall into.

A _true_ friend.

Jake smiled at the thought. People like him were hard to find, nor did he ever imagine to meet one like Barren. At first he thought that Barren would be some random guy in this tournament for the kicks who had no idea what he was doing. He guessed he could blame GIR for that first impression. He still had to get the bot's saliva off his shoe...

Eh... Maybe he wasn't Barren's friend _yet_...

But maybe he could be...

Turning his head towards the clock, he saw that it was still 6:20 AM. Way too early to get up. Sighing, he covered himself up to get some more sleep, but not before one thing crossed his mind...

Mario and Luigi, the Mario Bros.

Popo and Nana, the Ice Climbers.

Barren and Jake... the unlikely friends.

...He liked the sound of that.

* * *

><p>Ruby colored eyes shot open in a cold sweat. Barren panted heavily as he stared wide eyed at his feet. Another nightmare. The same one as always...<p>

God, this was getting annoying!

Every night for three years! Ever since that... white haired kid left. Darn it, what was his name?! Barren remembered he spent years with him, training together, laughing together. Their misadventures were still fresh in his mind! Like the time they put itching powder in Cain's underwear or when they hung Cain's clothes on the flagpole. Then there was the time they spiked Cain's coffee with hot sauce and the time they gave him a haircut in his sleep...

Gee, did they really torture Cain that much? They were bigger troublemakers than he thought...

Argh! Getting off topic!

The point is, Barren had great times with that kid...

"So why the heck can't I remember his name?" Barren muttered as he got off of the bed. His legs wobbled when he stood up, but he held his balance well. Looking at the top bunk, Jake was still sleeping. GIR was absentmindedly chewing on his pillow mumbling something about waffles and something called a "Zim". What ever it was, Barren could ignore it.

Sighing, the red eyed boy slumped put of his bed and marched off towards the bathroom. He eyed his reflection. His hair was messy, his body covered in sweat and in all honesty, he look like he just got out of a bar fight. He smirked at his reflection.

"A new day in my life," He started, fishing through the cabinets for his toothbrush. "and a typical day in the mansion..."

* * *

><p>Opening Theme 1: Sonic DRIVE ~ Kageyama Hironobu<p>

S-O-N-I-C GO! S-O-N- I-C GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!  
>LET'S GO!<p>

_[Barren and al the ther Smasher run onto the screen as the title screen apears.]_

* * *

><p><strong>Super Smash Bros. Unlimited<br>Chapter 12  
>Typical Day? A Smasher's Modern Strife!<strong>

* * *

><p>Kinou made no ruuru<br>kyou wa tada no ruuzu  
>Kowashite dantotsu gooru<p>

_[The scene shows Barren, Cain, Jake, Alexis, Haruhi and several other characters talking with each other in the living room, laughing at a joke someone made.]_

Hashirituduketenai to  
>hoka ni imi wa nai to<br>Panku na tetsugaku nanda

_[The scene shows Orvus, playing solitaire with his cards as Litnor and Nicky argue in the background.]_

Baiorizumu wa  
>Tsuubai rizumu de<p>

_[Link and Zelda sweatdrop as Sheik observes everything in the mansion rather... closely, frighteing some of the younger smashers.]_

Fuukei wa  
>shunkan ni<br>musuu no sen Ore  
>wo torimaku kaze<p>

_[Barren and Meta Knight trade blows as the two are standing in the stadium, a large crowd cheering both of them.]_

Inside Outside semete  
>Issaigassai nuite<p>

_[Orvus's eye glows as a drak power envelopes his hand and he releases it all in a powerful attack.]_

Dare hitori mo  
>nani hitotsu mo<br>Mae wo ikasetaku wa nai

_[Mario and Sonic are back to back as Bowser and Wario try to gang up on them. The two trade nods befre jumping towards their enemies.]_

Inside Outside GO! SONIC!  
>Issaigassai Yes! SONIC!<p>

_[Barren concentrates a magical blast in his hand as Orvus conjures up several cards in front of him. The both fire their blasts at eachother.]_

Abunai yo to  
>Have A Nice wa niteru<br>Sou dochira mo  
>kamihitoe na no sa<br>Taikutsu nugisutete  
>ima sugu kakedase<p>

_[Everyone readies their most powerful attack as the heroes and villains charge at each other. Master Hand, who was beaten and bruised, watching from afar.]_

S-O-N-I-C GO! S-O-N- I-C GO!

_[After a quick mantage of Dracicle and Nicky arguing, Barren blushing due to the attention he was getting from Haruhi and Alexis and the NOSTRIL Platoon's misadventures, the intro closes to a scene of all the smashers, standing together.]_

GO! GO! GO! GO! LET'S GO!

* * *

><p>...<p>

...

...

Well that was... different.

Oh well! No point in talking about it now! On with the story!

Barren, now fully dressed and ready for the day ahead of him dashed down the stairs before turning towards the kitchen area. He tried his hardest not to make any noise, seeing that it was still only 8:24 AM and the grand majority of the Smashers were still asleep.

Sliding on the slippery tile, Barren gracefully stopped in front of the kitchen's door.

"Made it!" The red eyed wonder exclaimed. The moment he opened the door, something sweet filled the air. Something with sweet cinnamon drenched with thick maple syrup... Oh, Barren recognized that smell anywhere.

"Pancakes..." He moaned, a line of drool forming on his face along with a goofy smile. Man, that smelled good! He heard a soft humming coming from inside and slowly started to open the door. Standing there with her back turned to him was a young blonde woman wearing a pink apron and a regal crown on her head, mixing a bowl of what looked like pancake batter. There were lots of dirty bowls around and dozens of stacks of pancakes. The very sight made Barren's mouth water.

"Mama mia..." He mumbled, eyeing the delicious looking breakfast. Barren saw the woman's shoulders droop. He couldn't see the girl's face, but he was pretty sure she started pouting.

"Mario!" She scolded before turning around. "I thought I told you yesterday not to-" She stopped herself. In front of her wasn't the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was Barren, staring at her with a confused look.

"Mario?" He asked, tilting his head. "Isn't he that guy in red the tourney's named after?" Peach let out a little giggle.

"Yes. That's him." She said, placing the bowl she was holding on the table. "Sorry about that. I thought you were him. He's been dying to taste my pancakes since we've arrived!" Barren took a whiff of the pleasant smell in the kitchen and smiled.

"I don't blame him! That smells goo~d!" He said, licking his lips in anticipation. The princess giggled a bit at that. "Hey, I don't think I've introduced myself! I'm Barren!" He held out a hand to the princess, who smiled in return.

"Hello Barren! It's nice to meet you!" She took his hand. "I am Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom, but you can call me-"

"Woahwoahwoah! PRINCESS?!" Barren yelled, recoiling in shock. Peach jumped in surprised... and then sweatdropped when Barren started bowing repeatedly on the floor mumbling: "I am not worthy! I am not worthy! I am not worthy!"

"T-there's no need for that..." She admitted, making Barren freeze mid-bow.

"Really?" He asked, earning a nod from the princess. He quickly got up, a small blush on his face. "S-sorry... I just... never met anyone who's royalty before!" Peach gave him a motherly smile.

"It's fine Barren. You're not the first person to do it. You should've seen Popo when he first found out!" She giggled as she recalled the blue Ice Climber's cute and flustered expression. Barren's eyes trailed to her crown. It probably should've been a dead giveaway...

"So~ Uh..." He trailed, scratching his cheek. "Why are you making pancakes so early?" Peach smiled again, and Barren couldn't help but crack a smile himself. There was something about her cheerful attitude that seemed contagious.

"Oh, I always make breakfast for the Smashers!" She happily replied. "Ever since my first tournament I've been preparing breakfast every morning!"

"Every morning?" Barren asked, somewhat incredulously. "I'm not trying to sound rude but... there are over a hundred guys in this tourney... How long have you been awake?"

"Since about 4:30 AM." Barren fall down in shock. Who the heck wakes up at four thirty to make pancakes for a crowd that big?! "You know what they say: The early bird catches the early worm!"

"And the late one houses them..." Barren muttered. Thankfully, Peach didn't hear him. "So~... I'm already up. You mind if I get a few flapjacks already?" Peach smiled.

"Help yourself!" She answered, handing him a plate. One with a rather large stack of flapjacks. The very sight made Barren start drooling again. "Just try not to make much of a mess. This place is already messy as it is..."

Barren wasn't listening and had already began to scarf down as many pancakes as he could. They were nice and soft, they literally felt as if he was biting a nice fluffy cloud coated in syrup. Man, these pancakes tasted good!

"Do you like them?" Peach asked as Barren swallowed.

"Like 'em? I love 'em!" Barren yelled before biting into another flapjack. "Vi hafndhav-"

"Not with your mouth full." The blonde interrupted him. Barren swallowed.

"Sorry. But these pancakes are great! I haven't eaten pancakes this good since-"

Barren dropped his fork. The clattering sound of it hitting the table echoed through the kitchen.

"Barren?" Peach asked, tilting her head. "What's wrong?"

_"Hey Barren!" A young boy behind the ten year old Barren said. Before the red eyed boy could say anything, a plate of hot flapjacks were put right in from if him. "Happy birthday!"_

_Barren looked between the pancakes and his white haired friend. "You made these?" He asked, earning a nod from the energetic seven year old._

_"Yep! Himawari showed me how to make them yesterday! So I thought I'd make you some as my way of saying happy birthday!" He finished with an exaggerated hand gesture, making Barren chuckle._

_"Hey, thanks buddy!" Barren replied, giving the white haired boy a quick brofist. He looked at the pancakes and suddenly got an uneasy feeling. "Uh~... Quick question... Is this stuff... edible?"_

_"I don't know, I didn't try it. Mainly because the ones Hima made were disgusting." He said, ignoring Barren's now incredulous expression._

_"Um...Look, I can tell you tried hard to make this, but telling me that kind of stuff is really making me lose my ape-..." One look at the boy's crestfallen expression made him sigh. "Fine. I'll try some."_

_"Yay!" He yelled as Barren quickly brought a piece to his mouth. He hesitated when it got near its destination, but he had to be strong! He ate the piece in one go. "Well, what do you think? Is it any good Barren? Barren? Barren?!"_

"Barren?! What's wrong?!" Barren snapped back to reality. Peach was shaking him and it was making him feel dizzy.

"P-Princess! C-Can you p-p-please stop sh-sh-sha-shaking me-e-e-e?!"He yelled. The princess obliged only for him to drop onto the floor like a rag doll. "Ow..."

"Sorry!" Peach squealed before before helping him up. "You had zoned out there for a moment. Is everything fine?" Barren nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good." He said. He glanced back at the pancakes. "Those pancakes just brought back some old memories..." Peach tilted her head. "Just forget it. It's nothing that important."

"...'Kay." She said, still a bit concerned. "Does that happen often?" Barren nodded before going back to eating.

"You'd be surprised." Barren muttered as he took another bite. "I've been having these weird memory gaps for years now." He explained nonchalantly, much to Peach's disbelief. "Sometimes everyday things trigger memories, or just leaves me brooding." They were silent for a while until Barren snickered. "Hehe... Brooding... I sound like Batman from one of those LEGO games..."

Barren took one last bite and pushed the plate forward. "Well, thanks for the meal Princess!" Peach giggled.

"Just Peach is fine Barren. It was nice meeting you!" Barren nodded and took his leave. _"You know... he kind of reminds me of a certain plumber I know..."_

* * *

><p>Orvus glared at the sleeping body sprawled out on the sofa in the living room of the mansion. His eye twitched in disbelief as the oblivious chained demon snored loudly with an idiotic grin on his face. He growled before snapping his fingers, making Nicky's shackles glow.<p>

The younger demon shot right up, clutching his stomach as an intense burning sensation coursed through him. He let out an inhuman shriek as his eyes flashed from one color to another. Nicky gripped the sofa cushion as more jolts of burning pain ran through him. And then it stopped, just as quickly as it started.

Nicky let out a sigh of relief as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He glared at Orvus, who was still watching him with his hateful expression.

"What was that for?! You know I hate it when you do that!" Nicky yelled. He grimaced when he heard Orvus let out beastly growl.

"Be quiet you twit!" Orvus whispered, his canines barred. "The majority of the Smashers are still asleep."

"Then why'd you use the shackles?..." Nicky muttered. Orvus heard him, but was too irritated to berate him.

"Nicky, why are you still here?" The card dealer spat. You could feel the venom dripping from his voice. "You were supposed to meet up with Litnor an hour ago! So may inquire _why_ you're still sleeping on this infernal thing you call a bed?!"

"The couch is surprisingly comfy..." Orvus growled again, making Nicky lean back. "Okay okay! Calm down! Look, I know it looks bad, but I had something important to do!"

Orvus raised an eyebrow. "Which was?" An awkward chewing sound was heard before something small burst out of the floor. Orvus took a step back as a red imp creature with two small horns stood there, violently twitching. It's tail flicked from side to side as it examined its surroundings with its pitch black eyes. Despite the strange sound from earlier, there was no mouth visible on his face.

Orvus blinked twice as he stared at the imp. "A Fallen? _Really?_" Nicky smirked.

"Aren't you forgetting who's in charge of the Fallen Brigade?"

"I always thought that was your brother Beelzebub." Nicky fell over anime style. "Nevertheless, how is this going to be helpful to our cause?"

Nicky, who recovered from his shock, stood up to stretch his limbs. "Fallens are pretty crafty little guys on their own, but they're good to have around because the can be used as excellent spy cameras." He pointed to his head. "All you need is a psychic link and you can hear and see everything they do."

"Eyes and ears all around the mansion..." Orvus mused. "Hmm...While I am still angry for you blindly ignoring your mission to retrieve another staff, I must admit, I am impressed. I didn't expect someone with _your_ level of intelligence would be able to think of a plan like this."

Nicky glared at him. "_Gee! __**Thanks**__!_" The demon spawn spat, making the card dealer roll his eyes. "So what now? Did you guys get the staff?" Orvus nodded.

"Two actually." He answered, reaching for his cards. "I managed to locate the staffs of ice and magic. It's a good thing too." He started shuffling. "The attack I used during my match drained me of much more magic than I expected. At least now my magic power is close to what it once was."

"So that leaves time, space, metal, earth and air." Nicky concluded. "And then there's still that orb..."

"That's right." Orvus said, stopping at a card. He realized something. "Nicky, don't you have a roommate?" Nicky nodded.

"Yeah~... He was more pissed off about our living conditions than I was." Nicky admitted, scratching his cheek.

"Where is he?"

Nicky pointed to a closet. One that had a little sign on the door that read "Dracicle".

"You have got to be kidding me..." Orvus muttered.

"Nope." Nicky noticed the Fallen still bouncing in place, so he whistled and it jumped down through the hole it made, only for it to close itself back up. "He said he wouldn't stand sleeping on a couch so he took the utility closet... I think I heard construction tools in there while I was getting the Fallens rounded up."

"Hmm..." Orvus pondered for a moment. "Dracicle is a very intelligent man. One we shouldn't let go to waste... Nicky, I have a job for you." Nicky blinked, his eyes turning blue in confusion. "I want you to assist Dracicle in any way possible." Nicky stayed silent until his eyes turned green. He snickered before letting out a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Oh~! Man Orvus! You're such a kidder..." He stopped. His eyes turned red again. "Wait a minute, you never kid. You're _serious?!_" Orvus nodded. "You want me to be an errand boy?!"

"I've done my homework on him." Orvus responded. "He's a revolutionary. A very powerful one at that. Having someone like him on our side is essential if we want to achieve victory."

"Again, an _errand boy?!_"

"He's also a very intelligent man. Somewhat of an inventor. Who knows? Maybe some of his intelligence will rub off on you."

"...Okay, forget errand boy. You want me to be a _lab assistant?!_"

"Nicky, stop complaining." Orvus berated. "As soon as he wakes up, I want you to properly introduce yourself. I want you to at least try to get on his good side and see if we can benefit out of it."

"Alright already!" Nicky exclaimed. "Geez, don't get your undies in a knot..." Orvus ignored him and started walking away.

"Good luck Nicky." The demon spawn snorted.

"I don't need luck. This will be easy!" He said before walking towards Dracicle's closet. "I'll just knock on his door and ask if I can come in! I'll be 'friends' with this guy in no time!" Nicky knocked three times...

And then a metal orb came out of a secret compartment in the door. A red light came out and scanned Nicky from head to toe. It made a very unpleasant beep before a flamethrower, one about three times Nicky's size, came out of a another compartment and pointed itself at Nicky.

"Oh snap."

_**FWOOSH!**_

A loud scream echoed the mansion that day.

* * *

><p>Ike sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. He was in the hospital wing, sitting next to the unconscious hyrulian princess who laid on the bed.<p>

When Zelda fell unconscious yesterday, the first thing Ike did was pick her up run to the medical ward. Dr. Mario, Mario and Luigi's cousin and previous Smash Bros. competitor was already there, sorting out a few medical supplies. Thankfully the Italian doctor made no hesitation in helping the poor girl.

Dr. Mario couldn't find anything wrong with her, which did help ease both of their nerves, but still left questions lingering in the air. Ike saw how terrified Zelda looked once she saw Orvus's dark flame...

Geez! That Orvus guy gave Ike the willies!There was something so... dark about him. It reminded him of when Ganondorf would activate his final smash and turn into Ganon.

Imagine if Orvus activated _his_ final smash...

"How is she?" Ike lifted his head. Tsuchi stood at the doorway, along with Link and Toon.

"She's still unconscious, but she should wake up pretty soon." He answered. The Hylians let out a sigh in relief. The four stood around the bed, watching the princess in her peaceful slumber.

"So," Toon started, seeing that no one else was willing to speak. "what happened to her?" Ike shrugged.

"I'll be honest with you Toon, I don't know." The mercenary answered. Link put a hand on Zelda's forehead. Thankfully, she didn't have a fever or anything like that. "She just fainted after she saw that attack Orvus let out."

The Hylians cocked an eyebrow while Tsuchi crossed his arms. "She said it felt just like... something. She didn't say what though."

"I'd say" Tsuchi started, drawing the attention to him. "it had something to do with that dream she had." Link's eyes widened before turning back to the sleeping princess. Only Toon looked confused.

"Dream? What dream?" He asked, cutely tilting his head to the side. Despite his recent growth spurt, he still looked adorable.

"Oh?" Tsuchi raised any eyebrow at this. "I thought she had told you, seeing as you technically _are_ Fairy Boy over here." Link glared at the gunslinger before turning back to Zelda.

"No, she didn't." Ike said. He motioned to the two Links. "The two are from two different periods of time. In fact, Toon's from a different timeline all together. She didn't have any way to tell him." Tsuchi shrugged and turned to the young Hylian.

"Basically the princess dreamed that two guys radiated with both light and darkness respectively and had their own little armies." He said, motioning with his hands. "They charge at each other and the dream ends." Ike blinked.

"That's a rather summed up version of it but... Yeah, that works too." Tsuchi rolled his eyes before he started pacing around the room. He stopped in front of the window, gazing at the nearly endless city outside.

"Okay... so what can we gather from Zelda's dream?" He asked. The three pondered for a moment.

"Well," Ike started. "obviously the dream represents a battle between two different groups... But here? At the Smash Bros. tournament?"

"Well, it's not that illogical." Tsuchi countered. "We're living in house filled with some of the most dangerous and stupidly insane villains of all time. If someone could find a way to manipulate them and band together..."

"It still seems a bit farfetched." Ike said. The mercenary put a hand on his chin. "Even if they did join up, the heroes would still have a bigger group. Not to mention they'd still have to deal with Master Hand..." Toon raised his hand.

"But even if that's true, who would be able to bring them all together?" He said.

"And don't forget about the one leading the army of light either." Ike said. Link looked between the two and back at Tsuchi, who shrugged.

"Can't say anything about the light guy, but I'm having a hunch about the other one..."

"Orvus..." Link said, startling the others.

"He can talk?" Tsuchi asked. "I thought he was mute."

"No, he just likes to stay quiet." Ike answered. "Toon's always been more of a chatterbox than him." He turned back to the Hero of Twilight. "You were saying?"

"Orvus." He repeated, still looking at Zelda. "He reminds me of Zant." Ike and Toon recoiled in shock.

"Who?" Tsuchi asked, though he was ignored.

"Zant? As in, the one from the Twilight Realm?" Toon asked. He remembered Zelda and Link telling him of Link's adventure against him. The older Hylian nodded.

"But you killed Zant!" Ike protested. "Plus, every connection to the Twilight Realm got cut off when your friend Midna broke the Mirror of Twilight."

"I didn't say it was Zant himself..." Link said. Not making eye contact. "He just reminded me of him..." He glanced back at Zelda and back to the group. "More specifically, he reminded me just how insane he was..."

"There was a strange feeling in the air..." Tsuchi muttered. "To be honest, I was surprised his sanity didn't snap when Falco hit him." Ike sighed. This conversation was getting them nowhere.

"Look everyone," The Greil Mercenary said as he got up. "I'm going to go speak with Master Hand about this. Call for me if she wakes up, okay?" The three nodded and Ike took his leave. Tsuchi glanced at Link.

"You really think this Zant guy has something to do with this?" He asked. The Hylian shook his head.

"It's highly unlikely, but..." Link took one last look at Zelda. "you never know." Tsuchi nodded before following Ike, leaving the three Hylians alone. _"Though I'm pretty sure I do. It wasn't the same thing, but Orvus's magic felt almost like Twili Magic."_ He looked out the window, his cartoony self doing the same. _"Makes me wonder where he learned something like that."_

* * *

><p>Alexis sighed as she walked down the halls of the mansion. In case her crestfallen expression didn't give it away, the petite beauty was depressed.<p>

Why? Well a little conversation she had with Master Hand yesterday... did not go how she hoped.

_Master Hand looked down at his papers and then back at Alexis. The girl fidgeted in her seat. The hand's silence was killing her! After telling him her little er... story, Master was silent._

_"..." Master sighed, making Alexis jump. "Look, Alexis was it?" She nodded. "I'm very sorry, but I have no memory of anyone named "Sam" ever coming here." Alexis's expression dropped. "I take it he was a close friend of yours?"_

_"My brother actually..." Alexis said quietly. She didn't even look at the hand as she got up from her seat. "He left me a note a few years ago telling me too..."_

_"Meet you here?" Another nod and another sigh. "Alexis, as much as I'd like to help you, I'm afraid that I'm as lost as you are." Alexis sighed and started walking away. "But if I _do_ find anything out, I'll call you, okay?" Alexis gave a small smile._

_"Thank you Master Hand." She said before taking her leave._

Alexis shook her head trying her best to repress the memory. _"Great... I'm back to square one..."_ She sighed as she stepped down the stairs. Her room _was_ on the second floor after all, while the kitchen was on the first floor. _"I finally find a lead and only for it to get disproved the after! Man, this bites... Where are you Sam? I thought I finally found you..."_

Her stomach growled and she groaned. "Man I'm hungry..." She muttered, passing the entrance to the trophy room. "Might as well head on down to the kitchen and... Huh?" She said after hearing a thumping sound coming from inside the trophy room. The girl stared at the door. It had an "Out of Order" sign hanging from the doorknob. "What the-"

"Ow!" Came a voice from inside, making Alexis jump. "Dangnabbit! Where the heck is the exit? Heck, I can't even find a light switch in here!" Alexis sweatdropped before walking towards the door.

"Uh... Hello?" She said, knocking on the door. The voice inside shrieked and a series of loud crashes was heard. Alexis winced before opening the door. Inside, she noticed one thing. It was dark. Really dark. Scanning around quickly she find a light switch and quickly flipped it on.

What.

A.

Mess!

The trophy room looked like a hurricane came running through it! Trophies were scattered across the floor, stands turned over some of the lights were out and there was a corner of the room that was oddly colored black and white.

Weird...

But what got Alexis's attention was the mountain of trophies a few meters in front of her. There was a hand sticking out from underneath the pile. Noticing this, she quickly made her way over and started scooping the miniatures in her hands.

_"Funny, I always thought the trophies were bigger than this..."_ She thought she tossed the trophies aside. Truth be told, from what she had heard, she imagined the trophies to be life sized. Meh. Guess she was wrong.

The pile shook and Alexis stopped picking up figures. She blinked before something popped out from the top of the pile.

To be more precise, Barren's head, holding a trophy of Ike in his mouth.

His eyes were spiral for a moment before he shook his head. The first thing he noticed was Alexis, staring at him with a perplexed expression. He blinked before spitting the trophy out of his mouth.

"Are you an angel?" Barren asked, tilting his head to the side. Alexis blushed but it quickly died down as she shook her head.

"Sorry, you haven't kicked the bucket yet." She said, offering him a hand. He gladly accepted. "What are you doing in here? The sign says this place isn't finished yet." Barren scratched his cheek, looking away.

"Y-yeah... You see what happened was..."

_"Ah~! That was nice!" Barren said as he patted his stomach. He walked up to the second floor. Meta-Knight and Kirby had told him the Training Room was there yesterday, so he thought he'd check it out. "Peach is a really good cook! If all the meals here are going to be like that, I don't mind at all!" As Barren took two steps down the hall, a large figure ran up an pushed him to the ground. "Oof!"_

_The figure stopped and turned around. Seeing Barren, he let out a gasp and picked him up by the back of his collar. Barren screamed once the figure took off down the hall along with him._

_"H-hey! Let me go!" He yelled as he tried to kick whoever was carrying him... That is, until he noticed that the figure didn't have any legs for him to kick. Or body or even a head for that matter._

_All he saw was a large white left hand holding his collar between its thumb and index finger._

_"Crazy Hand?!" He exclaimed. The hand abruptly came to stop before dropping him onto the floor._

_"Barren!" He shouted in the fighter's ear. "I need your help!"_

_"You could have said something before you dragged me away..." Barren muttered, which was ignored by the hand of destruction. "Ugh~... What do you need? And how come your speech is written normally now and not in that uppercase/lower-case thing you had going on?"_

_"Blame the author! He thought it would be easier to write and for people to understand! But that's beside the point! I left a letter inside the trophy room and now I can't find it!" He cried._

_"...What?"_

_Crazy shook himself. "It was an important note to one of the Smashers! And now I can't find it!" He began to flail around wildly, throwing himself onto the ground and the walls. "Master is going to kill me if he finds out I lost it! Or worse, he'll take away my 3DS! Do you have any idea how noobish I am?! I still haven't beaten Thanatos in Kid Icarus: Uprising!"_

_"How does a giant glove play a 3DS? And hasn't that game been out for like two years? And-" He paused. "Wow, you're still __**that**__ early in the game? You are a noob."_

_"ASKLHGGWUEJHXJKWWLAIFUDKEJSJEBBJEKHXJSJJDIDJDHOSVWVWSJWIODESCVNMLLKJHYTUHDEDDGGFYGYJYHGGYVYJGHGFBCJNGVJ!"_

_"C-calm down Crazy!" Barren said, trying to calm the hyperactive hand down. "I'll help you look for it." Crazy froze in midair._

_"Really?!" Crazy shouted earning a reluctant nod from Barren. "Hooray!" Crazy grabbed his hand and gave him a very fast handshake. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"_

_"N-n-no~ prob-b-blem!" Barren managed to say. Even when Crazy let go, he was still a bit jittery. "S-so... What am I looking for?"_

_"It's a red envelope with a golden smash symbol on it." Crazy snapped his fingers before disappearing into a puff of smoke. "Good luck!"_

"After that I went in. I eventually found the envelope but then the lights went out and I couldn't find the exit." Barren explained letting out a nervous laugh.

"All this just because of a letter?" Alexis asked, finding the whole thing fishy. "Let me see it." Barren quickly obliged. Alexis scanned it. It was just a plain red envelope with a gold colored emblem on the back. Nothing _too_ out of normal. That is, until she noticed something. "Hey, is your name Barren?" Barren blinked before nodding. "This letter is addressed to you." He blinked again before snatching the envelope from her hands.

She was right. His name was written on the back.

"Man, I _really_ need to work in my observational skills..." He muttered before tearing the envelope open. He opened the letter and quickly scanned through it...

Two seconds later, said letter was thrown across the room, crumpled into a ball as Barren seethed.

"That no good nearly omnipotent conniving left hand! He set me up!" Barren yelled, flailing his arms. "That letter was just asking me to clean this place up for him! I've been conned!"

Alexis walked over to the letter and skimmed over it. She sweatdropped.

"It is kind of pointless..." She commented. "He could've just asked you to clean this place up when he found you at the stairs."

"Well his name is Crazy Hand... Makes sense that he'd come up with something like this..." Barren sighed before looking around.

The Trophy Room was a complete mess! It would take hours to finish organizing this place! Alexis seemed to notice it too.

"Hey, umm... Barren?" She started, catching his attention. "Do you... want some help?"

Huh?

_"Why the heck did I just say that?"_ She thought, berating herself. Not that she didn't _want_ to help him, but she had more important things to do, like ponder her brother's connection to this tournament...

Albeit, possibly a lost cause, but still important nevertheless!

"Really?!" Barren exclaimed in her face, making her jump back and blush at his sudden proximity. Jesus, hasn't this guy ever hear of personal space? "Oh thank you very much! I really need all the help I can get here!" Alexis nodded before faking a cough.

"A-anyway..." She glanced to the side, not making eye contact. Her cheeks were still a bit flared up, which Barren thankfully didn't notice. "How are we going to do this?" Barren's expression dropped. He put a hand on his chin before scanning around.

There were a few trophy cases standing up, each one with a different icon, representing its home world. Barren picked up the Ike Trophy he had earlier and looked underneath it. On the bottom was the Fire Emblem symbol.

"Looks like these things are separated by where they came from." He said, showing her the symbol. "I guess we just finish setting up the trophy cases and then we just put everything where it belongs." Alexis nodded before walking towards the cases that still had to be built. There were still quite a few... but it had to be done.

"I'll start building these things, okay?" She asked. A nod from the ruby eyed warrior was all the confirmation she needed.

"Oh! By the way," He said, making her turn around. "I'm Barren. Barren Rein. What's your name?"

She smiled. "I'm Alexis. It's very nice to meet you." Barren chuckled. Alexis raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Barren shook his head. "It's just that you look so nice and you act so polite. It's cute!" Alexis flushed and looked away.

_"No no no! Stop it Alexis! You're not here to meet boys!"_ She berated herself, lightly smacking her skull. _"You're on an important mission! You can't let one cute boy get in the way of finding your-"_

Wait a minute...

_"Did I just admit he's __**cute**__?!"_ Her face turned even more scarlet, rivaling the crimson carpets in the mansion. This was not happening to her... was it?

"Well" The sound of Barren's voice made her jump. "I'm gonna organize these trophies so it will be easier to put them away later." He said, picking up a box of assorted trophies. "If you need anything, just yell, okay?" She nodded before watching him rummage through the pile, taking out trophies and stacking them up.

She sighed as she went back to the trophy cases. It seemed fairly simple to build, all she really had to do was stand it up and get the legs to stay firm. Easy.

So easy that she finished three stands in a little less than five minutes.

As for Barren... Well, let's just say he had a _lot_ of work to do.

God, just how many trophies were there?

As Alexis worked on her next case, she pondered one thing. What was she doing? Sure, she obviously got the easy part if the job, but still! Why was she even working in the first place? She had important things to attend! Like wonder where the heck her brother might be!

Again, possibly a lost cause, but a girl can dream, can't she?

But here she was, wasting her time with some guy she just met! Man, today was just not her day! But that's fine! All she had to do is finish her part and then she'd let Barren finish up on his own. It was as easy as that.

"Hey, are you an archer?" Barren asked suddenly. She turned around to see him staring at her quiver.

"Uh..." She trailed off. "Yes... Why do you ask?"

Barren blushed before scratching his cheek. "Well, there aren't many guys who can use a bow where come from, so I guess I'm just curious." He shrugged. "Plus you look like the kind of girl who'd use magic rather than conventional fighting methods, but that's just my opinion." Alexis blinked. "Anyway, where'd you learn how to use a bow?"

"O-oh!" She stammered, glancing at her quiver and then back at him. "Well you see... My brother taught me how to fight a long time ago..." Barren had stopped what he was doing. He sat on the floor, watching her intently as she continued. "Mainly because he wanted me to know how to defend myself in case I ended up on my own. I tried out a few weapons my brother had and in the end" She motioned to her gun holster and her quiver. "these ended up being my best choice."

Barren laughed at that. "Kind of reminds me of how I picked staves as a weapon." Alexis raised an eyebrow. "My family is known for having weird choices of weaponry... Heck, my grandpa fights with a freakin' scarf for God's sake!" He chuckled before standing up. "Your brother sound like a nice guy!" A melancholic smile appeared on Alexis's face.

"He sure was..." She went back to fixing up the cases... but then something bugged her. This guy was... pretty fun to talk too... "Hey Barren?" The ruby eyed warrior turned to her, a confused expression on his face. One that made him look very... _"Cute..."_ "What was living at the School of Master Asia like?". Barren looked confused. He opened his mouth- "I remembering seeing you when Master Hand announced the Undefeated of the East's grandsons being in the tourney." and he shut it closed again.

"I'm still a bit peeved he didn't say anything..." He muttered before shaking his head. "Well, I'll gladly tell you! But it's kind of a long story..." He admitted, scratching his cheek. Alexis looked st the cases, biting her lip.

"Barren..." She started before turning to him with a smile. "I don't mind! Go on, tell me! I'm all ears!"

* * *

><p>"Look, I'm really sorry I-"<p>

"Don't want to hear it."

"But I-"

"Don't. Want. To hear it."

"But seriously, I-"

"Will you leave me alone?!" Ray shouted at Amy as the two sat in front of a large television in the living room. It was already about 2:00 PM, and the Smashers were already up on their feet. This of course included Ray and Amy. Ray, given his nature, was looking forward to a nice quiet session of watching TV. Of course Amy just had to come canonballing in and ruin his good mood.

"No!" She pouted, crossing her arms. "I'm not leaving until you accept my apology!" Ray rolled his eyes.

"Then you're going to stay there for a long time..." He muttered, flipping through the channels. Amy whined and started lightly hitting his head with small punches.

"Come on! Do you forgive me or not?!"

"If I say yes will you leave me alone?"

"Will you mean it?"

"No."

"Then no!"

"You really are an irritating little brat, aren't y- Ow! Knock it off!" He exclaimed, trying to push Amy off of him. While the two were apparently wrestling, Nicky walked past them. He had several band-aids on his cheeks and was carrying a large box.

"It's a good thing Litnor brought those do-it-yourself battering rams Orvus jeeps collecting for no good reason!" He exclaimed, dropping the box at his feet. "Now all I got to do is build this baby up and knock Dracicle's door down!"

"Wouldn't "blow" his door down be a bit more appropriate, ?" Nicky blinked before jumping back in shock at the sudden appearance of the man next to him. To be more precise, the man who fought the white dragon, ZohanIshbal.

"Wha~?" Nicky took a step back. "Who the Hell are y-"

"My name is Zohan!" Zohan shouted in his ear. "I am here for the same reason as you!" Nicky blinked.

"Did Orvus send you here?" Zohan raised an eyebrow.

"Who is this man you call Orvus?' Nicky rolled his eyes. Obviously not."No I am here for the same reason !"

"Why are you calling me tha-"

"For the three little piggies that lie behind that door!" He yelled, pointing dramatically at Dracicle's door. The demon spawn looked at the door and then back at Zohan. He quickly counted on his fingers before speaking.

"Please tell me that that's not some kind of sick innuendo I haven't heard of..." He groaned. "Mainly because I'm usually the one who starts those kind of things and I want to see my competition. Though if they're all gonna be like that, I don't have much to worry about ."

"And by piggies" He continued, ignoring Nicky altogether. "I obviously mean the glorious sweets that the dark man must hide!" Nicky blinked.

"Huh?"

"Why else would he spend all day locked in his room?" He exclaimed, pointing at the door. "He must obviously have something valuable in there, and what could possibly be more valuable than candy?!"

"...I take it you're a sugar addict..." He said, noticing how dilated his eyes were. "And judging by that look in your eyes, you're obviously way to sugar high to think straight."

"Fear not !" Nicky held back the urge to punch him. Seriously, what part of him resembled a wolf? Was it just because he was gonna knock someone's door down? Someone's been reading too many children's storybooks. "I shall assist you in constructing this bombardment device!"

"Wouldn't call a battering ram a "bombardment device", but whatever floats your boat." Nicky muttered, seeing no way to argue with him. "How did I get stuck with this clown? What's next? Alien cabbages trying to take over the world?"

At that point, three cabbages who happened to be hiding behind a bust started sweating.

"Ah Theodore! He's onto us!" Koruru exclaimed, making wild gestures.

"Quick Sergeant!" Goruru yelled back. "We have to make a retreat!"

"Nonsense Corporal! The answer is simple! All we need to do is retreat until the heat dies down." Goruru slapped his forehead.

"Aye! Good idea Sergeant!" Tomumu yelled ecstatically before Koruru darted of in another direction.

"Quick! To our high tech temporary headquarters!" A large question mark appeared over his friends heads.

"You mean the attic?" Tomumu asked. A vein appeared on the green cabbage.

"Shut the Theodore up Tomumu! It's a high tech temporary headquarters!" He argued, angrily stomping the floor. Goruru muttered something under his breath before smacking the Sergeant on the head.

"Shouldn't we be a little more focused on escaping, Sir?" The red cabbage asked.

"Quiet Goruru! We need to be more focused on escaping!" If there was a table nearby, Goruru would've flipped it. "Gentlemen! Let's move out!" And like that, the three bolted down the hall. Nicky, while he didn't understand a word of what they were saying, did see them take off. And it left him wondering if this place was just as bizarre as most people made it to be or if he was just losing his sanity.

Ironically, it felt like a little bit if both.

* * *

><p>Deep within Orvus's ruined fortress, the card dealer calmly sat in front of his throne as his cards were all ordered in front of him. Litnor was by his side, watching his master as he picked up card after card, placing them in their desired location. The masked demon sweated as he felt his master's concentration increase.<p>

Just what was he doing? Why were those cards ordered in such a fashion? What kind of diabolical witchcraft was this?!

Litnor tapped Orvus's shoulder, earning his attention.

"Red eight on the black nine." He whispered. Orvus looked back at the cards and saw where he was referring too.

"Ah! Thank you Litnor!" Orvus said as he placed his the cards down. "I've had these cards for thousands of years and I still need your help to play solitaire!"

...Really?

"I live to please you my Lord." Litnor bowed as Orvus moved a black seven and a red six onto the pile. "Anything you request, I shall follow it until my last breath!"

"Let's hope that doesn't happen soon." Orvus whispered. He was about to continue his game when a pair of footsteps came into earshot. Vergil came walking towards the two, his hand rested at the hilt of his Yamato. "Yes Vergil?"

"Orvus..." He started, his grip tightened around his blade. "I thought I had recognized that name earlier..." Orvus raised an eyebrow. "I once heard many tales about you in the demon world... A deity, living amongst man, serving as a beacon of hope for all humanity." Orvus remained silent as he continued playing his game. "One who suddenly fell into madness and became one of the most vile beings on the face of the Earth."

"Oh, don't flatter me Vergil." He said, paying full attention to his cards. "I'm not surprised someone knows about my history... Especially you, son of Sparda." He placed another red eight on a black nine. "The question is, why does this interest you?"

"No one simply _becomes_ as powerful as you do over night." The demon spawn explained, glaring at him. "You were a deity of light who suddenly appeared one day harnessing darkness in its purest form. How?"

"How?" Orvus chuckled. This entire conversation was somewhat amusing to him. "Oh you poor blind fool..." Orvus stood up. He looked down at his finished game and all of the cards returned into his hand. "Do you truly believe by telling you how I became this way, you will become any stronger?" Vergil said nothing as Orvus walked closer to him. "Oh how pathetic! I truly expected more from the son of Sparda..."

It took Vergil every ounce of will power he had not to skewer Orvus on the spot... But still, if what the stories said were true, he wouldn't stand a chance... As much as he hated to admit it, Vergil was indeed weaker than him...

"I need to gain more power..." Vergil said, making the card dealer sigh in frustration.

"Demonic youths... All they care about is power..." An idea lit up Orvus's expression. "Very well than Vergil, how about a little wager?"

Vergil loosened his grip on his blade, but was still cautious. "What kind of wager?"

"If you win the Smash Bros. Tournament, I will tell you everything I did in order to reach this so called "madness" of mine." Vergil blinked.

"And if I lose?" Orvus put on a rather terrifying smirk.

"You swear to me, by the blood of Sparda himself, your obedience and loyalty only to me."

* * *

><p>"Hey Jake, have you seen Barren?" Cain asked as he Jake and GIR were all sitting on a bench in the training room, watching a sparring match between Kirby and Meta Knight.<p>

"No, I haven't." He said as GIR nibbled on his knee. Honestly, what was with this robot's obsession with chewing? Was he teething or something? "I thought he had left to go see Himawari?" Cain shook his head.

"Nah. She called earlier. I asked her if she saw Barren today and she said no." Cain scratched the back of his neck. "It's weird... Barren was never one to wake up early, especially after..." Cain trailed off. Though Jake had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about.

"The bad dreams?" GIR asked, making both of the boys stare at him in shock.

"You know about his nightmares?" Cain asked. GIR nodded rapidly.

"Yep! Barren explained it to me last night after I finished making way for the cabbage revolution!" The two sweatdropped. This was probably the only "normal" conversation they'd get out if him. "You see..."

_"Alright GIR, time to hit the hay." Barren said as he jumped onto his bed. GIR happily made his way to his pillow. "I just hope I don't have another nightmare..." GIR turned around on his heel, his large eyes shaking signs of confusion._

_"Nightmare?" He asked, tilting his head. Barren blinked._

_"You don't know what a nightmare is?" He asked, earning a nod from the robot. "Well it's... a really bad dream."_

_"Why do you keep having them?" GIR asked. His only response was a shrug._

_"It just happens GIR." Barren said as he tucked himself in. "I don't have any control over it... You just have to live with it." GIR nodded. He still didn't get the entire concept, but he didn't min- Ooo! A spider!_

"And then the spider flew climbed up onto the desk and started making its web!" GIR explained, making a little spider with his hands. "It was all pew pewpew! Firing it's web everywhere! It was so cool!"

"...O~kay..." Jake started. He looked back at Cain. "So Barren has nightmares every night?" Cain nodded.

"Yep. Ever since that kid left..." Jake raised an eyebrow. "The new King of Hearts." Jake leaned back in shock.

"The King of Hearts?!" He exclaimed, making Cain wince. "I thought it was still the Undefeated of the East!" The older boy shook his head.

"Nope. Grandpa gave up the title a few years back." Cain explained. "He gave it to this one kid... He used to be Barren's best friend."

"A child?..." Jake asked, still confused.

"Little guys rule!" GIR yelled.

"Yep. No one understood why he did it. It just... sorta happened." Cain ran a hand through his hair. "After that though... Barren just... forgot about him."

"Huh?"

"Not just him actually, everyone." He started. "Everyone just woke up one day and forgot stuff about him. We could still remember he existed, but the details are vague..."

"All you can remember..." Jake started, realizing what he was trying to say.

"Is that is that he and Barren were pretty darn close..." Cain finished. "Master Asia says that Barren's been having nightmares because his mind is trying to make him remember the new king." Jake put a hand on his chin. That was a pretty solid theory. But there was just one thing that was bugging him.

"Hasn't anyone tried to find out _why_ you can't remember this guy?" Jake asked making Cain laugh.

"Oh, we panicked for weeks!" He said between laughs. "It was pretty intense! But it was almost as if Clockwork himself was trying to hide him from us!" Jake leaned back. How is this guy taking this so lightly? "Though, believe it or not, it's not the first time something like this happened."

"Eh?" Jake couldn't believe it. This had happened before?

"Master Asia explained to me that these kind of things just fix themselves..." Cain glanced up, Jake following line of sight. "Knowing my family though, this has Clockwork written all over it."

"Who is Clockwork anyway?" Jake asked, snapping Cain out of his train of thought. The elder boy smiled.

"The guardian of time itself." He explained. "Without a doubt the most powerful being in the universe. Only he has the power to do something like this..." Cain's smile twisted into a frown. "And when he does do something like this, there's usually a good reason., but it only shows itself at the right-"

"Time?" Jake finished, with a smile in his face. The two laughed as GIR hopped of Jake's leg. "It's still something pretty hard to believe..." He shrugged. "But then again, I'm participating in a tournament with a bunch of anthropomorphic creatures and super humans being run by a giant right glove. My catch on reality is pretty messed up at the moment."

Cain laughed at that. "True dat my friend!" The two sighed as their laughter died down. "Well that's enough back story for now. We need something to liven up the mood a bit."

"Yeah. All we need is a cute girl to show up and today would be perfect!" Jake finished before the two laughed again. GIR dusted himself off before noticing someone come in.

"You mean like her?" He asked, pointing at the door. The two boys looked over to se Haruhi coming in, looking around and admiring the interior of the building. She blinked when she recognized the two boys on the bench.

"Hey guys!" She yelled before walking towards them. The two exchanged looks.

"..."

"..."

"...Dibs on flirting with her first!"

"Wha- Hey! No fair!"

Haruhi sweatdropped as the two started wrestling. She leaned over to GIR. "What's up with them?" She whispered. The robot shrugged before ejecting a paddle ball from his stomach.

"Bouncy!" He exclaimed as he played with his toy. Haruhi sighed. She looked at the camera and shrugged.

"Boys."

* * *

><p>"And then Cain ended up landing in the poison ivy by the falls! He kept itching for weeks!" Barren finished, earning a hearty laugh from Alexis. The sound of their laughter filled the trophy room.<p>

It was already 5:45 PM and the trophy room was finally completely organized! Every stand put up and every trophy put in it's proper place!

Admittedly, things went a lot different than Alexis imagined.

During the whole organization process, Barren told Alexis about, well, everything! His life at his school, a few of his misadventures and his grandpa's teachings. After that the two started talking about things they like, things they don't like, pet peeves, hobbies and the list goes on! Even after they finished, they spent a good hour and a half talking to each other.

Alexis had to admit, she was never the most talkative of people, but Barren just made her _want_ to talk more. There was just such a fun atmosphere around him, even if he was a bit clueless at times. But he was clueless in a very... _cute_ way.

So, the two just sat there. Alexis leaned on one of the trophy stands and Barren just sat on the floor.

"Wow!" She managed to say between laughs. "You sure tortured him, huh?" Barren wiped a tear from his eye before nodding in agreement.

"Yeah! Me and that kid were quite the little devils! Haha!" He laughed again. Alexis giggled... but there was something about that sentence that bugged her.

"Hey..." She started, gaining Barren's attention. "I've noticed that you only call that friend of yours "kid" and not his name." Barren blinked. "Why?"

The ruby eyed warrior stayed quiet for a moment before he sighed. "It's... complicated." He said, looking away. He definitely did not want to have to explain this.

"How can something like _that_ be complicated?" She asked, sincerely curious as to why he wouldn't say the boy's name. Were the two on bad terms with each other? If so, why would he spend so much time talking about the good things about him?

"It just... _is_!" He pouted, turning away. "And I don't like talking about it..." Alexis sighed. As much as she wanted to press forward, Barren didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk. Barren jumped back onto his feet. "Well, we're all done here..." He stretched his arms over his head. "Might as well look for Cain and Jake. I think they said they were going to check out the training room today..." Alexis nodded and stood up too.

"Yeah. I think I'm gonna head over to the kitchen and get a bite to eat. I'm getting kinda hungry." She said. As if on cue, her stomach let out a loud and unladylike growl. She blushed as Barren started chuckling. "Don't laugh!"

"S-sorry." He said between chuckles. "Just wasn't expecting it!" Barren snickered and started laughing again, making Alexis even redder.

"Now look here you!" She said before stomping towards him. "I'm not just gonna- Kya!"

Barren instantly reacted when Alexis tripped. Before she could hit the ground, the boy quickly grabbed her arm and waist to keep her from falling.

"H-hey! Careful!" Barren said. His legs wobbled a bit but he managed to hold his ground. Alexis looked up at Barren and her breathe stopped.

They're faces were close. _Very_ close. Both of them stared into each other's eyes, blushing madly. Alexis quickly scrambled off of him, her face even more scarlet than before. Barren scratched his cheek nervously, his face also red.

There was a rather awkward silence as the two looked at everything but each other.

"Uh..." Barren was at a loss for words. As was Alexis. "W-we should... get going..."

"Y-yeah..." Alexis agreed before both of them walked towards the door. The two stayed silent until they got to the hall.

"So~..." Barren started. "I'm heading off to the training room. The guys are probably wondering where I am..." He looked at Alexis. "You wanna come with?"

Alexis's stomach growled again.

"I'll take that as a "no"." He said, ignoring Alexis's red face.

"S-sorry..." She said, looking away.

"Nah, don't be." Barren waved it off. "I was the one who dragged you into cleaning with me... If anyone's to blame, it's me."

"N-no it's not! I am!" Alexis shouted, startling Barren. "I was the one who offered to help. You have nothing to blame yourself for..." She smiled. "I had a wonderful time."

Barren scratched the back of his head. "Y-yeah, me too. We should do this again sometime!" He said before turning around. "Well, I'm out. Bye Alexis!"

"B-bye Barren..." She muttered as she watched him dart down the hall... Admittedly, part of her felt sad as she watched him take off, but it was okay. She was still hungry so she started to make her way to the kitchen.

_"We should do this again sometime!"_

Alexis stopped and her eyes widened. Did he... just ask her out on a date? Nah! He probably just meant he wanted to hang out again. And seeing how insanely clueless he was, he probably meant with his friends too.

Though she wouldn't mind if it was just the two if them...

She sighed. Today definitely did not go how she imagined it. She was _not_ here to meet boys... But there was something about Barren that was... different. In a good way.

"I'm probably just over thinking things." She said to herself. "I just met the guy. Can't say I'm in love with him yet." She froze. _Yet_. "Dear God this is not happening..." Okay, so maybe she felt a _little_ bit attracted by him, but that was it. Nothing _too_ serious.

Maybe her roommate Nana could give her some advice...

She shook away all the thoughts. Priorities. First up, eat. Second try to find out what her brother meant to say in that letter. Third... find Barren and hang out with him and his friends...

After all, that's what you normally do when you make a new friend, right?

* * *

><p>"O~W!"<p>

"Forgive me already!"

"Do you really think attacking me will make me _want_ to forgive you?!"

"..."

"Ha! Gotcha ther- Ow! Stop biting me! Ah!"

And like that, Ray fell off the sofa as Amy climbed onto him, constantly hitting him and biting his shoulder. She let go of him and stood up.

"Well, how about now?" She asked, ignoring the death glare the chimera boy was giving her. "Come o~n Ray! I didn't mean to take so long... I just ended up getting lost!"

"More than enough reason for me to hold a grudge." He spat underneath her. "I spent six hours stuck under that meteor! _Six hours_! Under a _meteor_!"

"The other guys were more forgiving..." She whined, ignoring the growl coming out of Ray's mouth. "Look, I'm sorry! I really did go as fast as I can, but I didn't recognize anything here..." She trailed off as she glances to the side. Her expression had become notably... depressive.

Ray stared for a moment before sighing. "Could you please get off me?" She complied and both of them got back on to their feet. "...Alright fine, I forgive you." Amy immediately perked up. "But-"

"Oh thank you!" She yelled before scooping him up into a deadly bear hug. The chimera wheezed as all traces of oxygen left his lungs. "From this day forward, I promise to be the best friend of all time!"

Wait, what?

"Woahoho!" Ray managed to say, trying to pry himself from her grip. "We are _not_ friends!"

"Don't worry Rayray!" She said, hugging him even tighter. "From now on, I'll stay by your side twenty four seven! I'll never let you down again!"

"I-I can't... breathe woman..." Ray wheezed as Amy squeezed every breath he still had. "And... why the heck did you call me Rayray?"

Amy let go of him and grabbed his hand. "Let's go check out the training room! I bet there's something really good about to happen there!" Without a second thought, Amy dragged a screaming Ray out of the living room and dashed full speed towards the training room.

"Here we go~!"

"Let go of me woman! And was that supposed to be an imitation of Mario?!"

Nicky and Zohan, who were only a few meters away from the duo, had just finished setting up Nicky's do-it-yourself battering ram and had "safely" positioned it in front of Dracicle's door. Admittedly, both of them were trying to wrap their heads around the fact that such a large contraption was put inside such a small box, but they let it slide.

"Well, she's ready to knock some walls down!" Nicky boasted, admiring his handy work. Zohan nodded.

"Indeed !" He said. He also admired the wooden contraption placed right in front of him. However, he glanced at the intricate red door of the closet and back at the device. "But will this contraption truly be enough for us to get in?" Nicky scoffed.

"Dude, it's a wooden door." He stayed, pointing at the obstruction. "Albeit, one installed with a few defenses, yes, but still just a door." Nicky positioned himself on the opposite side and grabbed the stump connected to the large ram horns in the front. "Now help me out with this thing, will ya?"

Zohan nodded and grabbed the other side. The two ready themselves as they swung the stump back and forth, positioning it in front of the door.

"On the count of three!" Nicky ordered. "One... Two... Three!" The two slammed the battering ram with all their might into the door...

Only for the battering ram to turn into a large pile of dust the moment it hit its target.

The duo's mouths fell agape as they stared at the remains.

"...What the heck?!" Nicky exclaimed as the remains of the battering ram slipped through his fingers. "What kind of sick joke is this?!"

"Uh... ?"

"What?!" The demon spat, turning towards him. A familiar sound made Nicky's eyes turn green. "Huh?" He turned around.

The flamethrower from earlier had its barrel pointed directly at Nicky face.

"Oh, come on!"

_**FWOOSH!**_

* * *

><p>In another area of the mansion, a young girl dressed in a pirate garb ran down the hall as fast as her legs could carry her. The sound of her steps echoed the halls. Or was it just the sound of the footsteps running behind her, belonging to a cartoon version of Hyrule's hero?<p>

"Tetra!" He shouted as he tried to keep up with her. "Wait up! I don't know if she's up yet!"

"Do I look like I care?!" She shouted over her shoulder. Like Toon, Tetra too had grown, in all aspects. From her height, reaching about Toon's height (Which is about Zelda's shoulder height), all the way to her... assets. "Why didn't you tell me she was in the infirmary?!"

"I didn't want you to worry!" He shouted. Curse his running speed! He may be faster than some, but that still wasn't enough to catch up to Tetra. "W-wait up!"

Tetra skid to a halt. She stopped right in front of the room Zelda was in. Toon caught up to his pirate friend, panting heavily as he Tetra tapped her foot impatiently.

"Can't you slow down for once?" He wheezed. After an eye roll from Tetra, he sighed and opened the door.

Tetra quickly dashed in when she noticed the unconscious Hylian princess laying down on the bed, knocking Toon to the floor in the process.

"Zelda!" She shouted, rushing to her other self. Link was there as well, watching Tetra barge in with a mildly surprised expression. "Is she all right?" Link nodded, much to the pirate girl's relief. Toon soon came in, rubbing the side of his head.

"You didn't need to push..." He muttered, earning a glare from his friend.

"Stop whining already!" She snapped, shutting him up. She turned to her other self. Zelda was still out cold.

After Ike and Tsuchi left, Link and Toon spent a few hours watching over Zelda, hoping she'd wake up soon. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, and the younger Hylian hero ended up getting bored. So he had left for a while to meet up with his friends and Tetra.

After a quick conversation, Toon had told Tetra about Zelda's condition. After getting hit upside the the head, the cartoonish hero ended up having to follow his ill-tempered friend before she did anything too rash.

Tetra glanced at her other self. "How long has she been like this?"

"About a whole day actually..." Toon admitted, earning a death glare from the pirate.

"And _why_ didn't you tell me about this _earlier_?!" She spat. Her glare made Toon shrink. "Do you have any idea how worried I was once you told me?!" She turned to the older Link. "How did this happen?!"

The hero shrugged. "It happened during the tournament. She fell unconscious during the last match..." Tetra blinked.

"...The one with the guy wearing a top hat?" She asked. Both Links blinked before nodding.

"That's the one." Toon answered.

"Figures..." Tetra muttered, kicking the floor. "That guy had evil written all over him." She shuddered. He was worse than Ganon for crying out loud!

"How come you weren't affected by it?" Toon asked, regaining her attention. "I figured you'd be in some kind of coma too, but you've been acting just fine."

"Well" Link started. "while Tetra technically is Zelda, she did spend most of her life being a pirate." He glanced back at Zelda. "Maybe Zelda is just more connected to these kind of things than Tetra is?"

Toon scratched his chin. "Meh. Makes sense..."

"I don't know if I should feel insulted by that or not..." Tetra muttered. "But I guess it's probably the most reasonable explanation fo-"

At that moment, Zelda started letting out painful whimpers, getting their attention. She grasped onto the covers as her whimpers started getting louder and they became more like anguished cries.

"Woah! What's happening?!" Tetra yelled. Link tried to grab Zelda's hand in hopes of calming her down, but he drew himself away the moment he touched her. Her skin was practically on fire! He could even feel it through his gloves! "Link! What's going on?!"

The princess let out one last cry before a bright began to envelope her body. The three backed up in shock with their eyes wide.

The light grew brighter and brighter, almost as if it was about to- "Oh no... Hit the deck!" Toon yelled as the light burst throughout the room. The three were all pushed back by blast, though nothing in the room seemed that affected.

The three slowly stood up, looking at the princess.

"...What was that?" Tetra asked, stills but shaky from the experience.

Before Link could respond, they heard someone groan. They immediately turned to Zelda, but she was still unconscious. The sound was heard again, behind them.

"Okay, whoever's doing that better stop right now or I'll-" The three turned around and Tetra immediately stopped.

All three of them stared at the figure lying on the floor. He groaned as he stood up. He scanned his surroundings before looking at the flabbergasted expressions of the three Hyrulians.

"I-is that..."

"That's impossible..."

"...Sheik?!"

Sheik blinked and tilted his head. "Um… Hi?"

"EH~?!"

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for our ruby eyed protagonist to find the training room. Just a few turns here and there and there it was! Barren smiled happily as he walked through the door.<p>

"Hey guys! I-" Barren immediately stopped as Cain and Jake came tumbling towards him. He quickly sidestepped around them, and he watched as they tumbled out of the room. Barren sweatdropped. "-made it..."

Barren turned around and saw Kirby and Meta Knight, handshaking after their spar and Haruhi playing with GIR on her lap.

The red eyed warrior laughed before making his way there. Haruhi noticed someone coming and saw him. She smiled before waving.

"Hi Barren." She said as Barren sat down next to her.

"Hey Haruhi." He answered back. "Hey, what happened to you yesterday? You didn't sit with us at the match." Haruhi shrugged.

"I couldn't find you guys." She said simply. "The crowd was so massive, I couldn't find anyone I recognized, so I just sat down and watched." Barren nodded. "That was a really great first match by the way." Haruhi said with a sweet smile. Barren blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"T-thanks..." He said. "But I didn't really do much."

"I disagree." Meta Knight said next to him, making him jump. "You fought one of the veteran Smashers and still managed to win."

"Plus you beat him in less than half a minute!" Kirby chimed in. "That was really cool!" Barren laughed.

"Well, grandpa always told me to be swift and take out my opponents quickly, so I try hard to be fast!" Barren rubbed his nose in a Knuckle Joe style, Kirby imitating him. "You were pretty good too Meta Knight! No wonder you won the last tourney." Meta Knight said nothing. He only closed his eyes and pondered.

"I wouldn't say that…" He muttered. "The last match was very hectic, even for a one-on-one smash battle."

"Really?" GIR asked, jumping from Haruhi's lap onto the floor. Now that the two were standing next to each other, Barren and Haruhi noticed that they were pretty much the same size, GIR was only taller by about an inch.

"Indeed." Meta Knight stared off into space. "The final match between me and Prince Marth was truly one of the best matches in the tournament, or so they say." Barren blinked.

"Prince Marth?" He asked. "Who's that?"

"The blue haired guy who just walked through the door with those two girls." Kirby stated, pointing at the door. Everyone turned their heads. Sure enough, Marth, Caeda and Kaze were walking coming in. Jake followed them soon after.

One interesting thing is that Jake was dragging an unconscious Cain on the floor. He had a noticeable bump on his head and his eyes were swirls. That and Kaze looked rather… annoyed. Her face was red and her hands were clenched into fists.

"Hi Marth!" Kirby yelled. Marth searched around for the voice until he spotted Meta Knight. He smiled and walked towards him.

"Hello there Meta Knight!" He greeted. Meta Knight took his hand in a friendly handshake.

"Your majesty." Meta Knight greeted back. "It's a pleasure seeing you again after so much time."

"The feeling is mutual." Marth let go of his hand and gestured to the masked warrior. "Caeda, Kaze, this is Meta Knight. A good friend of mine I met in the last tournament,."Caeda came up and greeted him, as did Kaze, though she still looked somewhat peeved.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Meta Knight said. Barren noticed Jake come up to him. Jake took a seat next to Barren and slumped Cain into the seat next to him.

"What happened to him?" Barren whispered to his roommate, motioning to his cousin. Kaze also managed to hear it however.

"Oh, I'll tell you what happened!" Kaze said, marching up to Barren. She pointed an accusing finger at Cain. "That pervert groped me!" Barren blinked.

"Really?" He asked, earning a glare from the lavender haired woman.

"It's a bit more complicated than that actually." Jake said. "While we were wrestling we ended up running into Marth and his friends. We ended up making them fall down and Cain ended up landing with his hands in her bosom." Barren winced. He glanced back at the woman. There was something about her that scared Barren, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what that was.

"I can already imagine what her reaction was…" Barren whispered. He shook his head. "Look, Cain's a perv, that much I can guarantee, but even he's not crazy enough to grope someone out of the blue like that." He paused before glancing back at him. "At least I don't _think _he is…"

"Moving on!" Meta Knight interrupted. "Marth, I'd like you to meet some of my comrades. I take it you've already met Jake and Cain." Jake waved and Cain let out an incoherent moan. "This is GIR, Haruhi and Barren."

"Hi!"

"It's nice to meet you!"

"Howdy!"

"The pleasure's all mine!" Marth laughed as he waved to them. "I'm Marth, prince of Altea."

"So you're the guy Meta Knight fought in the final round of the last tourney?" Barren asked. Marth blinked before laughing.

"You really do enjoy talking about that match, don't you?" He asked. Meta Knight let out an amused chuckle.

"You could say that…" He said.

"Hey…" Caeda started once she got a better look at Barren and Jake. "Didn't you two compete in the tournament yesterday?" Marth and Kaze looked at the two and realized that they did look familiar.

"That's us!" Barren said, pointing to himself.

"I was pretty glad I got to have my match so early." Jake said. "It lets me relax for a bit longer and I still have more time to prepare for my next match." Barren rolled his eyes and stretched his arms.

"Either way, I'm just glad it's over for now." Barren said. "It just sucks that we have to wait three days until the next set of matches." Marth hesitantly nodded.

The prince blinked before noticing something. "Aren't you-"

"The Undefeated of the East's grandson?" Barren finished for him. He pointed to his unconscious cousin "Me and Cain are." Kaze raised an eyebrow.

"Him?" She asked, poniting at Barren's unconscious cousin. "That's pretty hard to believe."

Barren smirked. "I'd watch out if I were you." He said, confusing her. "Cain's a master at hand to hand combat. You'd be wise not to underestimate him."

"He's got you there Kaze." Marth whispered, earning a glare from Kaze.

"What about you guys?" Jake asked. "How do you guys battle?"

"Well, Kaze and I are swordsmen." Kaze coughed, making Marth sigh. "Fine, swordsman and swordswoman."

"Aside from, my sword, I use a little bit if magic too." Kaze finished, earning a nod from Jake.

"I'm a Pegasus Knight." Caeda explained. "Though I do have experience fighting without my Pegasus. I use a lance to fight, seeing it is the best option to use while riding." Barren nodded.

"I guess that makes sense..." Barren turned to Haruhi, who had stayed silent the entire conversation. "What about you Haruhi?"

No answer.

Barren blinked before waving his hand in front of her face. "Haruhi? You there?"

Haruhi blinked once she saw his hand and shook her head. "Huh?" She turned to look at Barren.

"You okay?" He asked. "You kind of spaced out there." Haruhi blushed.

"S-sorry... What were you saying?" Barren rolled his eyes.

"I was asking what's your fighting style." The girl raised an eyebrow. "You know, what do you do to fight?" Haruhi's eyes widened in realization and she nodded.

"O-oh! Well" She started. "I don't really have a fighting style… I just… improvise." Everyone around her blinked. "What?"

"That's… kind of vague." Caeda admitted.

"You managed to beat a dragon by just _improvising?_" Barren asked incredulously. Haruhi shrank in her seat and nodded. "Wow."

"C-can we move on please?" She asked, secretly hoping something would drive all the attention away from her.

To her surprise, her wish came true.

"We're here!" A loud voice sang at the door. Everyone turned their heads to see Amy dragging a furious half chimera into the room. Cain, recognizing the voice to be female, instantly came back to life.

"Who's the chick with the dragon kid?" He asked. Ray, thanks to his improved hearing, overheard this and glared.

"I'm a chimera smart one!" He shouted. "How does one confuse a chimera with a dragon?!"

"Aw~ Don't be like that Rayray!" Amy chimed in, patting his head. Ignoring the growl coming out of his throat, Amy dragged him over to the group. She smiled once she saw a face she recognized. "Hi Jake!" The blonde fencer smiled.

"Hello Amy!" He greeted. The boy got down on one knee took her hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again." Amy giggled while the others rolled their eyes. Ray on the other hand facepalmed.

He turned to Amy. "Seems like you're pretty occupied with lover boy here," He said, gesturing to Jake. "so do you mind letting me go?" Amy shook her head.

"Nope! Not until we check out all the great things in here!" Jake looked around the white room. There was the door, the benches and…

He blinked. The entire room seemed like an infinite white space.

"Am I the only one seeing this?" He asked. The others tilted their heads, not understanding what he meant. "The whole endless white universe here?!" Still nothing. "We're in a room that's completely endless and none of you are even freaked out about it?!"

"Reality's changed dude." Barren said simply.

"Yeah, nothing in this mansion makes sense." Haruhi continued. "Why even bother trying to wrap your head around these things when the answer is probably just going to be "magic" or something?"

Ray opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again.

"...Touché..." He growled. He shook his head. "Well, I've seen everything here, goodbye!" He yelled before Amy grabbed him by the collar.

"No way!" Amy protested, pulling harder on Ray's collar. "Not until you see what we can do here!"

"Like what exactly?!" Ray shouted, still irritated at her.

"Hey!" Everyone cocked their heads to see Marc standing in the white space...

"Well that's a bit random." Barren said, surprised.

"How long has he been there?" Kaze asked.

"Since we came in." Jake answered. "We invited him to join us, but he was too busy making plans to meet the Marvel characters here."

"Yeah... Unfortunately, none of them went how I hoped..." Marc admitted, scratching his cheek. "But that's beside the point. Can anyone explain to me what this is?" He held up am item that made Kirby, Marth and Meta Knight's blood run cold.

It was a Smart Bomb.

"Oh no..." Meta Knight muttered as Kirby hid himself behind him.

"L-look" Marth started. "I'd be very careful with that if I were you..."

"Why?" Marc asked tossing the disk from one hand to the other, much to the veterans' horror. "Looks pretty harmless if you ask me."

_"Oh you poor ignorant fool..." _Meta Knight wanted to say, but he couldn't stop worrying about the bomb. Marc held the item up and noticed something.

"Hey, what does this button do?" Marc pressed a small button, only for a small beeping sound to start.

In a flash, Meta Knight grabbed Kirby and Marth grabbed his two friends and rushed out of the kitchen leaving behind a trail of dust.

The one's who stayed behind blinked.

"What was that about?" Haruhi asked.

"...I have no idea." Ray muttered. This day was starting to get pretty weird. It couldn't possible get any more random, could it?

**BOOM!**

An explosion was heard, along with a pained scream. Everyone turned to Marc, who was stuck in the middle of a large ball of fire. Soon after, the fire died down, leaving behind a charred Marc with swirls for eyes, lying down on the floor.

Everyone sweatdropped.

"It was a _bomb_?!" Jake yelled incredulously. "Why didn't the others say anything?"

"I guess they thought we already knew what it was or something." Barren said, but even he didn't believe that. "Geez, I guess any normal day in the mansion is going to be like this."

"With someone blowing up?" Cain asked. His only response was a shrug

"...Okay, that's enough crazy for one day." Ray said, breaking free out if Amy's grip and storming towards the door. "I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" He took off as fast as he could.

Amy gasped. "Rayray!" She yelled before running after him. "Come back!"

"Leave me alone already!"

"Never!"

That left Barren, Cain, Jake, Haruhi, GIR and Marc in the room. The only female in the group looked puzzled.

"I wonder how that bomb got here in the first place..." She muttered. The boys froze. That was a good point. And what if there were more?!

Marc groaned as he sat up. "Your guess is as good as mine..." He muttered. "In one of my plans I had intended on putting a kind of bomb and the next thing I know, that thing spawned next to-" Another Smart Bomb popped up next to him. He quickly scrambled up to his feet and screamed. "It's another one!" He brought his leg back.

Jake's eyes went wide. "No! Don't kick i-"

**BOOM!**

Marc was now lying flat on his stomach, even more charred than before.

Everyone sweatdropped again.

"He kind of deserved it this time." Jake muttered. "What kind of idiot kicks a _bomb_?"

"Hmm..." Barren noticed something as he stood up. He walked a few steps before stopping. He glanced up.

"Barren, what's wrong?" Haruhi asked. The ruby eyed boy held out his hand

"Bomb." He said. A Smart Bomb instantly fell into his hand.

Cain slapped his forehead. "Oh I get it! This place works with voice command!"

"That would explain it…" Jake said, somewhat surprised Barren of all people managed to figure it out. "But did you have to summon up another bomb?" Barren blinked. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Oddly enough, he dared to open it again.

"Good point…" He said before tossing the bomb behind him.

Which landed on top of Marc.

"Eh?" The comic fanatic said groggily before the bomb set itself off again. Barren winced as he heard the loud shriek that bomb let out as it incinerated Marc.

"Oops…" He muttered. He shrugged. It's not like he was conscious to begin with. He probably would've done something to blow himself up later anyway.

"Green Shell." He heard Cain say. Sure enough, the famous item from the Mario series dropped in his hand. "So we just say it, and it shows up, right?" He asked, earning a nod from his cousin. "Perfect!" Without warning, Cain picked up the shell and threw it at Jake, knocking him off the bench.

Jake growled before jumping back to his feet. "Hey!" He yelled. A tick mark appeared on his head. "What was that for?!"

"I was just testing it out!" Cain defended, though it went ignored by the blonde.

"Oh, so that's the thanks I get for dragging you in here!" He held out his hand. "Red Shell." The shell appeared in his hand and he threw it at Cain. The older boy quickly ran as fast as he could, but the shell seemed to magically jump and hit him in the back of his head, knocking him on the floor. "Ha!" Cain growled as he got up.

"Blue Shell!" He said. Jake blinked once a shadow appeared over him. He looked up and saw the shell hovering over him.

"When did he even throw i-"

**BOOM!**

"Haha!" Cain mocked as Jake went flying back. The blonde caught his footing and glared.

"Beam Sword." Jake muttered. Cain smirked.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play?" He asked. "Fine. Beam Sword." The swords fell into their respective owners hands and they charged at each other.

Barren and Haruhi sweatdropped.

"I think they're overdoing it…" Haruhi said. Barren nodded in agreement. She was going to say something else when she noticed something. "Hey, where's GIR?" Before Barren could even answer, the sound of two Beam Swords colliding rang through the air.

Jake grunted as he blocked one of Cain's slashes. "Give it up Jake! This thing isn't like one of those fencing swords you use! This is a real sword!" Jake growled and parried as strike. He would've hit him if Cain hadn't jumped out of the way.

"First, the proper term is either foil,épée, or sabre. Either one can be used, depending on what kind of fencing you practice." He started, his eyebrow twitching as a second and third tick mark appeared on his head. "Second, I wouldn't call these light saber rejects _real _swords." He jumped back, avoiding one of Cain's swings. Cain predicted this so he jumped towardshim. Jake had no time to react and had to block, trapping the two into a blade lock.

They glared into each other's eyes as sparks flew. Their blades grinded together making a rather unpleasant buzzing noise. It felt like it would go on forever!

"Bob-omb!"

The two paused. Sweat trickled down their faces as an eerie cloud appeared over their heads. They recognized that voice all too well…

Turning, their heads, they saw GIR, holding the Bob-omb in his hands with a large smile on his face.

"Happy birthday!" He yelled before throwing the bomb at the two.

"Oh crap!"

**BOOM!**

Barren blinked as the two were sent flying and landed next to Marc, completely charred.

He looked at the reader and shrugged. "I guess people getting burnt is the running gag in the chapter." Now we might now he's talking to us, but to Haruhi, he was talking to nothing but thin air. He turned back to her, getting her attention. "Man, today's been kind of crazy." Haruhi nodded.

"I know." She said looking up. "And there are still so many people to meet and so many things to do here!" She smiled, but it soon faded.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Haruhi sighed.

"It's just… What happens when this is all over?" Barren blinked.

That… was a good point. What would happen when all this was over? Would they all just go their separate ways? He noticed Haruhi tensed up a bit. She brought her knees to her chest and gripped them tightly.

"I don't want to go back…" She whispered, surprising him. "I know it's only been two days since we arrived here… and I don't know anyone that well…" She bit her lip. "But I've already had so much fun here." Barren nodded. "I loved watching yesterday's fights, my roommate Peach is really nice," Oh, so Peach was her roommate! Man, she was lucky. He got stuck with someone as crabby as Jake. "and everyone else here is really nice! Especially you guys!" Barren blushed a little at that.

He had to admit, Haruhi was really cute. No, cute wasn't a good enough word for her, she was beautiful! Sure, she was a little taller than him, which admittedly did hurt his pride a little, but that didn't mean much to Barren.

"If I end up having to go back…" She whimpered. Barren blinked. Was she… crying?

"Come on…" He said. "Don't be like that." She sniffed. Geez, just what kind of life was she living before she came here? "Look, I don't know how you used to live before you came here, but don't cry. I'm sure we won't get separated so easily." Haruhi looked up, confused. Barren noticed a few tears in her eyes and sighed. "Even if we do end up going our separate ways after this whole tourney, our friendship won't die." Barren put a hand on his heart. "No matter how far apart two friends may be, the Multiverse itself will always bring those two together again, much faster than you'd expect." He walked up to her and tapped her forehead. "So even if you do have to go back to wherever it is you came from, you'll always meet up with your friends again. So make as many as you can here."

Haruhi looked up and smiled, making Barren blush. Without warning, she got up and hugged him.

"_Meep!"_ Barren froze as Haruhi held him in a light embrace. "H-Haruhi?" He squeaked. His body was trembling and he could feel his face getting hotter by the minute.

"You're such a nice guy Barren." She said, making him blush even more. She let go, which made his face cool down, but it was still red. She laughed at his flustered expression, which only flustered him even more. "Thank you… I'm sorry about what I said. I was being silly."

Barren shook his head. Thankfully, it also calmed his blush down. "Nah, don't be. We all say stuff like that sometimes." He replied. "My grandpa told me that a long time ago, back when I was still training to use my staff." Haruhi nodded.

Away from them, Marc groaned as he sat up. He looked to his sides and saw Jake and Cain unconscious next to them. He blinked. "What happened to them?"

Barren, noticing him awake, pointed to the left.

"He happened." He said simply. Marc turned to see GIR, surrounded by a multitude of Smash Bros. items. But it was the item he had in hand that made Marc go pale.

"W-what is that?!" He yelled as GIR held the weapon. The robot laughed mischievously and pointed it at him.

"Say hello to my little friend!" He shouted before a massive beam was fired from the rifle like weapon. One that hit Marc, Cain and Jake head on. Barren and Haruhi watched as the blast disappeared into the endless white landscape and as they're friends were sent flying in all directions.

"We're blasting off again!"

"A Pokémon reference Cain?! _**Really?!**_ Now of all times?!"

"Weren't you two unconscious earlie~r?!"

Barren and Haruhi sweatdropped as GIR celebrated.

"Victory!" The robot yelled, preforming a victory dance. "Daybreak has won the battle! All hail the Cabbage King!"

The two blinked and look at each other. "Do you think every day is going to be like this?" Haruhi asked. Barren shrugged.

"I guess…" He watched as the three who were blasted away walked back. Well, walk wasn't the right word. More like limp back while shouting insults at GIR and having to defend against the bolts he threw at them. Where he got them, who in the heck knows? "I guess you can call it a Smasher's modern strife!"

* * *

><p>Master Hand sighed for what felt like the billionth time that day. He sat in his office, Ike sitting in a chair in front of him. The two were silent for quite sometime.<p>

After Ike told Master of Zelda's dream and her current condition, the hand fell silent. Ike had also mentioned his suspicion of Orvus, which only shook Master Hand's nerves even more.

So here they were, waiting for the hand to answer.

"Ike..." He started, making the mercenary. "I realize that this may be difficult to believe, but this is beyond my control."

Ike blinked. "What?"

"Ike, I understand your concern very well." He continued. "But I'm afraid even I can't do anything about this..."

"But you're Master Hand!" Ike shouted. "The creator of the Smash Bros. Tournaments! The nearly omnipotent governor of Smash City!" Master Hand sighed. There was no need to state the obvious, even though one of those staments wasn't entirely true. "How can you not look into this?!"

"Ike, this _is_ a very serious matter." Master Hand spoke. He didn't sound angry, but the way he said it made Ike gulp. "And as much as I want to help, I _can't_ do _anything_."

Ike nodded, not wanting to receive the hand's wrath, nodded. But he still dared to ask one thing.

"Why?"

All rage disappeared from Master Hand. His fingers dropped in a sad way.

"...Have you ever heard the term "skeletons in the closet"?" Ike nodded, though he still couldn't comprehend what that had to with anything. "This is an old issue that I thought I had taken care of years ago."

Ike stared at him. What did he mean by that? "What are you-"

"Orvus is beyond my power."

Orvus...

Was he talking about him?

"You two have a history together?" Ike asked. Master sighed.

"Unfortunately..." Master looked up at Ike. Ike was a good man. There was no doubt about that. He could know a little more than the others... "There's something big going on this year Ike." Ike stayed silent. "Just promise me you won't mess with Orvus. Please...

You don't know what he's capable of."

* * *

><p>"U-uh, ?" Zohan asked as he stared at Nicky worriedly. He had a few bandages on his face, much like Nicky did earlier. "Are you sure about this?" Nicky turned around and glared.<p>

Much unlike earlier, Nicky's face was covered in even more bandages. That and there were several burn marks all over his body. And in his hands was a large missile launcher.

Wait, what?!

"You're darn right I'm sure!" He yelled, making Zohan flinch. "I am getting into that room and no force, whether it be holy or not, is gonna stop me from getting in!" He lifted the weapon and pointed it at that accursed door. "Fire!"

**BOOM!**

Nicky and Zohan shielded their eyes shielded their eyes from the smoke the blast had produced. As it died down, Nicky looked up with a insane smile.

And when it finally went away, his smile dropped.

The door was still intact.

"**Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"** He shrieked, ready to punch the closest living thing next to him, which happened to be Zohan. Before he even prepared the strike however, he heard someone fake a cough behind him.

"Excuse me," The two turned around, only to see Dracicle tapping his foot with his arms crossed. "might I ask what you two are doing?" Nicky blinked.

"But but but, you're supposed to be- when did you- huh?" He couldn't even formulate a proper response.

"Nicky, was it?" Dracicle asked. "Orvus told me about you. He also told me that you're going to be my assistant for the tournament." Nicky snapped out of his gaze and nodded. Dracicle glanced at Zohan. "Who is this?"

"Someone you will only see when the time is right…" Zohan said mysteriously, making everyone raise an eyebrow. "Nah, I'm just screwing with you. Well, I'm hungry. I'm out. Tallyho!" He yelled before throwing a smoke bomb onto the floor. When it died down, he was nowhere in sight.

Nicky blinked. "Well that was random. He seemed pretty serious about busting into your room with me..."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing!" Dracicle sighed before walking to his door. "Wait! What about the-" Dracicle walked up and opened the door normally. "-defenses…"

"You just have to open the door fast enough and the flame throwers won't go off." Nicky's eye twitched.

"Gee... Nice to know..." He growled. He shook his head. "Look, Orvus wants us to work together, so we need to start interacting a bit more." Speaking of which, where were you all day?" If he wasn't in his room, where was he.

"In the garden." He said simply. "I wanted to get on that hand's good side, so I volunteered to help garden from time to time."

"...Really?" Dracicle glared. "Geez, calm down! It was an innocent question."

"Either way..." The man trailed off. "If we are going to be working together, you'll need to understand how I do things around here." Nicky cocked his head to the side. "You'll understand what I mean tomorrow. Meet me here at 2:00 PM."

"In the middle of the day?"

"Don't question it. Like I said, you'll understand later." He said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't be late."

And with that, Dracicle slammed the door shut. Nicky stared at the door for a few seconds.

"…What the heck just happened?!" He yelled. Unfortunately, his yelling triggered something within the door.

Three flamethrowers, just like the one from earlier, busted out of the door and pointed themselves at Nicky.

"…Life, why do you hate me?"

_**FWOOSH!**_


End file.
